The Idahoans for Open Primaries coalition is only 200 signatures short of satisfying the state’s requirements for a ballot initiative to go to voters. By the May 1 deadline, they could have 20 or more legislative districts over the minimum requirement, two more districts than they need.
Luke Mayville, co-founder of Reclaim Idaho, which is part of the Idahoans for Open Primaries coalition, takes this as evidence that the state is ready to end closed primary elections, but knows the struggle is nowhere near finished.
If requirements are met by the deadline, the initiative will go to the November ballot, where Idaho voters will decide whether to open primary elections and implement a four-candidate ranked choice voting system.
“All of the indications are that a solid majority is fed up with the closed primary system and is ready to go back to a time when all voters could participate, regardless of party affiliation,” Mayville said.
Comparing Medicaid, Education, and Primary Initiatives
Reclaim Idaho was founded to partake in the political rodeo of gathering signatures and getting a ballot initiative to voters. The open primary initiative is the group’s third major effort in six years, following the successful Medicaid expansion and a quasi-successful education initiative in 2022.
But this time, Reclaim Idaho isn’t doing all the heavy lifting. The organization is joined by several other coalition groups: Veterans for Idaho Voters, the Hope Coalition, Idaho Chapter of Mormon Women for Ethical Government, and North Idaho Women. And Mayville said volunteers gathering signatures have been met with less confusion and more excitement than in either of the previous initiative efforts he’s been part of.
Gov. Brad Little’s predecessor Butch Otter endorsed the initiative last summer, bolstering the ranks of Republicans and conservative organizations who support ending closed primaries.
“We normally would have hoped that some of these groups would join in towards the very end, once we’ve gained all the momentum we need to win the election,” Mayville said. “This time around, they showed up at the beginning, and that’s a sign that from day one there’s been a broad coalition who are fed up with the current system.”
Across the state, the coalition has found a vast majority of independent voters support the initiative. But Mayville also said that a majority of Republicans have supported the initiative, showing a disconnect from current GOP leaders who are lukewarm on the topic at best.
Republican Opposition and Next Steps
Idaho Republican Chairwoman Dorothy Moon has called open primaries and ranked choice voting an “attack on our way of life” in Idaho and warned Republicans of “deceitful” language used to convince voters to sign the petition.
Moon is joined in ringing the alarm by Attorney General Raúl Labrador, who wrote titles for the ballot initiative that the Idaho Supreme Court ordered him to change.
Mayville said the coalition expects Labrador “to do everything in his power to stop us.”
“We're taking nothing for granted,” Mayville said. “We have opponents who are vigorously making their arguments. But we're confident that if we keep doing what we're doing, we have a clear path to winning the majority of the vote.”
