Bill Description: House Bill 638 would create a March primary for presidential elections at an estimated cost of $2.5 million. 

Rating: -2

Does it create, expand, or enlarge any agency, board, program, function, or activity of government? Conversely, does it eliminate or curtail the size or scope of government?

Currently, Idaho has a May Primary Election for most partisan races, but political parties decide their presidential nominees through presidential caucuses conducted by the respective parties. 

House Bill 638 would amend seven sections and create eight new sections of Idaho code to establish a Presidential Primary Election in March that would be separate from the May Primary Election for other partisan races.

Under the language of this bill, candidates seeking a political party nomination for president would be required to pay a $50,000 fee to be included on the ballot.

Instituting another government election to provide political parties an alternative way to select their presidential nominees would expand the duties (and budget) of the Secretary of State’s office. It would also require additional work from county clerks’ offices and others involved in the administration of elections. 

(-1)

Does it increase government spending (for objectionable purposes) or debt? Conversely, does it decrease government spending or debt?

The fiscal note for House Bill 638 estimates the cost to conduct a presidential primary in 2028 at $2.5 million, a number that will rise in future cycles due to inflation and population growth. The cost might be partially offset by the $50,000 per candidate filing fee, but the majority of the cost would ultimately have to be paid by taxpayers. (Under the current caucus system, political parties fund their own nomination processes.) 

(-1)