IDAHO — Idaho will vote on ranked choice and open primaries this November. The two issues are included in a citizen-led initiative called Prop 1.
- Ranked choice voting allows voters to pick a second, third, and fourth choice for each elected office.
- Prop 1 would also include doing away with closed primaries.
- The Secretary of State says if Prop 1 passes it will cost anywhere from 20 to 40 million dollars to update its voting systems.
- If Prop 1 passes it won't go into effect until 2026.
(Verbatim of story that aired is below)
The Secretary of State tells me one of the biggest issues on the November ballot is likely to be Proposition 1.
Prop 1 would implement open primaries and ranked choice voting. If it fails, it fails. But if it passes, well that’s just the beginning.
At the Secretary of State’s office, they’ve been doing a lot of research around a citizen initiative to change the state’s voting system.
“We’re already seeing a lot of campaign activity lots of yard signs in both directions for and against,” said Secretary of State Phil McGrane.
Those in favor, including former Republican governor Butch Otter and many more centrist Republicans like former state Supreme Court member Jim Jones, say it’s going to pass, but the margin will determine if it faces challenges in the courts and legislature.
“If it passes by a large margin do you think they’ll give up?" I asked.
"I think they will,” responded Jones.
Jones says if it passes by 60%, even the legislature won’t try to overturn it.
But if it’s closer….
“I think if it’s in the low 50s they’ll do everything they can to kill it,” said Jones.
Republican Party Chair Dorothy Moon says she’s sure it will never get even that far.
“Prop 1 what’s going to happen with that?"
"Well, we’re hoping we defeat it for sure. We know the democrats scheme to upend Idaho elections with ranked choice voting isn’t good for Idaho,” explained Moon.
Like many signs connecting Prop 1 to California, Moon says Idaho voters don’t think much of politics in the Golden State.
“They understand that we don’t want to be like California and California uses ranked choice voting,” said Moon.
But Jones says Idaho liked the idea way back in 1911.
"They don’t understand that there was in the past history of Idaho, a ranked choice system that passed muster with the Idaho Supreme Court,” said Jones.
Signs that push the California narrative were recently vandalized and Moon says it helped her cause.
“We have put out probably another 100 signs for the 12 that were destroyed or vandalized. I don’t know we can print them like Doritos and we’re putting the out there as fast as we can,” said Moon.
If Prop 1 passes, the state will need a whole new election system for state and federal elections.
“It’s very expensive the secretary of state says it will cost $40 million in taxpayer money,” said Moon.
The actual amount is unknown, but McGrane says it could be less.
“The rough cost estimate is between 25 and 40 million dollars," said McGrane.
If Prop 1 were to succeed, it would not affect any elections until 2026. And Jim Jones says his group Reclaim Idaho is prepared for any challenges it faces if the proposition survives the vote of the public.
Prop 1 would do away with closed primaries in Idaho and implement ranked choice voting where you can rank candidates in the order of preference. It would apply only to state and federal races, not city races.
