By Ruth Brown, Idaho Reports
More than 200 volunteers with the Idaho for Open Primaries Coalition delivered more than 97,000 signatures to the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office on Tuesday, crossing yet another hurdle in the coalition’s plan to get an election initiative on the November ballot.
“This is what democracy looks like,” supporters chanted. Some held signs reading, “more choice, more voice.”
The proposed ballot initiative would change Idaho primary elections by placing candidates from all political parties on a single open ballot. Currently, only registered Republicans may vote in the closed Republican primary. The initiative would permit all registered voters to vote for any primary candidate, regardless of political party affiliation. The top four candidates from the primary would advance to the general election. The initiative would also create a new instant runoff voting system in Idaho’s general elections, commonly called ranked choice voting.
Speakers on the statehouse steps included Taylor Jenkins, an independent voter from Nampa. He argued that many independent voters are young people and active-duty military members.
“I know I’m not alone when I say I’ve felt excluded by our current primary system,” Jenkins told the crowd. “Independent voters are one of the fastest growing political alignments in our country. We cherish the freedom to think critically about candidates and issues and we refuse to be boxed in by a single party.”
Margaret Kinzel with Mormon Women for Ethical Government spoke, saying that closed primaries limit the field of candidates for elected office.
“(Closed primaries) change how the candidates act,” Kinzel said. “To win the primary, candidates narrow their focus, rather than listen to the full range of voices in their community. This means in our current system just a tiny fraction of Idaho voters are choosing our elected officials.”
About a dozen protesters across the street from the capitol held signs in opposition to ranked choice voting.
Hyrum Erickson, a Republican precinct committeeman from Rexburg, spoke to the crowd in support of open primaries.
“The current closed primary system is not just bad for Idaho, it is bad for the Republican Party,” Erickson said. “It allows special interest groups and fringe ideologs to focus on capturing the Republican Party as a path to power without having to actually persuade the majority of Idahoans.”
Erickson said a closed primary is not healthy for any pollical party, raising cheers from the crowd.
The coalition says submitted more than 97,000 verified signatures from Idahoans supporting the initiative. Current law requires valid signatures from 6 percent of voters in 18 legislative districts for an initiative to make it on the ballot. The group believes they qualified in 20 districts, and says they have signatures from every county in the state.
Several prominent Republicans, including former Gov. Butch Otter and former Speaker of the House Bruce Newcomb, have signed and publicly support the ballot initiative.
Luke Mayville, co-founder of Reclaim Idaho, told Idaho Reports after the rally that he expects a legal challenge.
“We are confident that that challenge will fail,” Mayville said. “The open primaries initiative that we are proposing is very similar to proposals in other states that have been upheld by courts multiple times. We’re not surprised by the challenge. The Attorney General is one of many politicians that has benefited from a broken system and is trying to keep it broken. Many powerful opponents of this initiative don’t like the idea that ordinary voters would choose their own leaders. They want to handpick our leaders themselves.”
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador previously stated he would challenge the measure, claiming the initiative violates the single-subject requirements of the Idaho Constitution, according to a letter he wrote to Secretary of State Phil McGrane. The Attorney General’s Office declined to comment Tuesday on potential litigation.
The Secretary of State’s Office said it anticipates completing the review of the signatures by early next week.
Ruth Brown | Producer
Ruth Brown grew up in South Dakota and her first job out of college was covering the South Dakota Legislature. She’s since moved on to Idaho lawmakers. Brown spent 10 years working in print journalism, including newspapers such as the Idaho Statesman and Idaho Press, where she’s covered everything from the correctional system to health care issues. She joined Idaho Reports in 2021 and looks forward to telling stories about how state policy can impact the lives of regular Idahoans.