TWIN FALLS, Idaho — Several bills moving through the Idaho state legislature aim to increase the requirements for citizen-led initiatives and referenda to become law.
These legislative changes would raise the vote threshold from a simple majority to a 60% supermajority and require ballot initiatives to gather signatures from all 35 Idaho counties, instead of the current 18.
"It's really important that the citizens of Idaho understand that this is one of their fundamental rights," said Luke Mayfield of Reclaim Idaho. "It's one of their constitutional rights and it needs to be protected."
The forum was first in a series hosted by Idaho Solutions, an organization that seeks to "(promote) entrepreneurship and business, advancing education, fostering good governance."
Former Idaho Attorney General Jim Jones and Twin Falls physician Steven Kohtz joined Mayfield at a forum to discuss these changes.
Idaho GOP Chairwoman Dorothy Moon has expressed support for increasing the signature threshold, stating, "So I think we need to make this a little more difficult because we could always be spending a ton of time and money trying to defeat these things."
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During the 90-minute forum, the audience learned about the history of the ballot initiative process in Idaho, including past measures that have been both passed (15 initiatives) and failed (16 initiatives).
The proposed changes have sparked debate over the balance of power between voters and the legislature, with concerns about limiting voter influence in the initiative process.
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