After the backers of Proposition 1 secured the initiative’s spot on the ballot earlier this year, the game changed. It became, at that moment, their job to sell a wholesale redrawing of Idaho’s tried-and-true election processes to hundreds of thousands of voters.
They have largely failed to do so, even after raising millions of dollars to persuade Idaho voters.
Proposition 1, in case you’ve been living under a rock for the last year or so, would completely rewrite Idaho’s election procedures. It would end the GOP’s closed primary system and throw all the party candidates into a single election. Only the top four vote-getters would move on to the general election.
In some districts in ruby-red Idaho, only four Republicans would get the green light to advance. In other districts, largely in Boise, general election voters could see only four Democrats vying for a single seat.
While this restriction of voter choice is a bad idea, the dishonesty this reform would encourage is far worse. The initiative would allow candidates to identify with any party they want, even if they aren’t actually a member of that party. So, in theory, Boise Mayor Lauren McLean, a socialist, could identify as a Republican to fool voters and win a seat in the Legislature. Of course, Republicans seeking to win in Boise’s blue districts could do the same to hoodwink voters. At a time when voters have very little trust in their government, this move seems unwise.
Proposition 1’s worst element, however, is the least discussed, at least by its backers.
A recent article by Keep Idaho Free shows the dirty little secret Prop 1 supporters don’t want you to know about — ranked choice voting (RCV). Keep Idaho Free audited campaign ads mailed or otherwise distributed by Idahoans for Open Primaries and other aligned groups. The audit found that not a single ad from proponents mentioned ranked choice voting.
Why are they hiding RCV?
Perhaps because it’s a wildly unpopular idea and will cost tens of millions of dollars to implement. Perhaps because it’s incredibly confusing and almost impossible to audit. Perhaps because a tabulation error in Oakland — a city that uses RCV — put the wrong person in office for several months. Or maybe because RCV flipped Alaska’s congressional seat from red to blue in a single election.
Proposition 1 isn’t really about fairness, nor is it about transparency in elections. It’s not about the veterans who supposedly can’t participate in primaries. It’s not about improving anything.
No, if you read between the lines, you’ll see that Proposition 1 is really about stopping conservative progress in the Statehouse. Conservatism is on the march, and the out-of-state liberals pumping millions into our state hope they can turn the tide.
Some liberal figures, including the Lewiston Tribune’s Marty Trillhaase, have spilled the beans on this reality.
“It’s not Proposition 1 — the Open Primaries Initiative — that’s up for a decision on the Nov. 5 Idaho election ballot,” Trillhaase wrote in a recent column.
“Instead, it’s Idaho GOP Chairwoman Dorothy Moon and the motley crew of extremists who make up her wing of the Republican Party who will face the verdict of the voters.”
He added a bit more clarity at the end of his column.
“The Californians are already here and they’re moving the state more to the right. Outside of a few legislative districts and local elections, the question is not whether Idaho will remain Republican, but what kind of Republican — those who build bridges or those who live to do nothing more than burn down the house.”
Dramatics aside, Trillhaase is partially correct. The proposition is about a single thing: Power and who has it.
For people like the Lewiston Tribune scribe, ousted state Sen. Linda Hartgen, and former Gov. Butch Otter, this initiative is a last-ditch effort to wrestle the Republican Party away from principled conservatives. These folks understand they can’t win fair elections anymore, so they want to rig the game to give left-leaning independents and Democrats a voice in GOP primaries.
And for what? If current GOP leadership wanted to, as Trillhaase suggests, burn down the house, then maybe there’s a case for election rigging to secure different outcomes. But that’s not what’s happening as Idaho continues to move to the right.
It’s worth keeping in mind that Prop 1 has created unprecedented unity within the Republican Party. Remember, U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, Congressmen Mike Simpson and Raul Fulcher, Gov. Brad Little, and Attorney General Raul Labrador all oppose the initiative. When was the last time that group of political figures agreed on anything?
They agree because the system isn’t broken. It’s just not producing results that left-of-center pundits and activists want. Republican primary voters are simply demanding more accountability and fidelity to principles from their elected officials. And when they don’t get it, they toss the unprincipled person from office.
Take outgoing Sen. Hartgen, for example. She lost her GOP primary this year because she voted for unchecked government spending. She also voted to allow youth to undergo trans surgeries and treatment, an insane position that’s unwelcome in the Republican Party.
When voters rendered a verdict on her time in office, they found her lacking. They gave political newcomer Josh Kohl a 27-point victory over the out-of-touch incumbent.
To Trillhaase and others who prefer big government, they see such an election as a sign the system is broken. But the Hartgen example shows it’s not broken but working exactly as designed. When a legislator doesn’t represent the will of her district, voters there are well within their rights to end her career.
A time for choosing is nearly here for Idaho voters. Will they choose more chaos, dishonesty, and impossible-to-audit election results in an attempt to stop the march toward conservative, limited government? Or will they keep Idaho’s tried-and-true election system and reject the lies, deceptions, and outright propaganda designed to give the left a larger-than-necessary voice in Idaho politics?
We’ll find out Tuesday night.
