BOISE, Idaho — The backers of a proposed ballot initiative to increase Idaho’s public education funding are suing the state in federal court, contending emergency orders during the coronavirus pandemic unconstitutionally limited their ability to collect signatures.
Reclaim Idaho filed the lawsuit against Gov. Brad Little and Secretary of State Lawerence Denney on Monday, asking a federal judge to grant a temporary 48-day extension to collect signatures and allow them to collect the signatures electronically. The group says the governor’s statewide stay-at-home order didn’t include any exceptions for the First Amendment-protected process of signature gathering, a form of political speech.
Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden declined to comment on the lawsuit.
