Idaho is not exclusive to those who identify as Republicans but is a state for anyone willing to call themself an Idahoan. So why is it that the Idaho Republican party holds such an unfair advantage in Idaho’s general elections? As of October 2024, 425,982 registered voters do not identify as Republican, according to the Idaho Secretary of State.
Still, with Idaho’s current election system, these voters do not have the same opportunity to elect their favored candidates as Republicans do. This is the reality of Idaho’s Red supermajority that has allowed Republicans to have inequitable control of the politicians chosen in primaries and voted into office seats in general elections. The present election system has been the source for many of the unchecked and radical politicians seen today throughout Idaho’s Senate and House of Representatives.
Proposition 1, which will be put to a vote on the Nov. 5 ballot, offers a game-changing election system that will ensure all of Idaho’s voters are represented and have an opportunity to vote for candidates that speak for them, no matter their political party. It suggests that, instead of the current closed primaries, they may be opened so all Idahoans vote for their top four candidates to be on general election ballots.
Candidates who do not affiliate with the Republican party are often discounted when there is little funding or backing for other parties. The Idaho Republican primaries are where most ultimately victorious candidates are chosen. Without any chance for unaffiliated or non-Republican voters to decide who will win in general elections, Idaho Republicans often have the undemocratic ability to choose whoever is put into a political office. Prop 1 offers a way to make Idaho’s election system fair so that the candidates elected are liked by the majority of Idaho, not just its Republicans.
Instead of each party electing its own candidate to put up for the general election, everyone would vote in one primary and rank the top four candidates they’d like to see on the general election ballot. This modern approach to voting would set aside all candidate political party affiliations and will solely be based on each candidate’s merit. Idahoans would not be forced to choose one candidate, but free to choose their top four that they feel fit for the position up for election.
Not only could Idaho’s undemocratic closed primaries be opened, but Prop 1 also offers the remedy to Idaho’s polarized politics: ranked-choice voting. Ranked-choice voting will give voters the same useful advantage as open primaries but will also be used in general elections. The new election system in America would allow for voters to not just choose one candidate in general elections, but to rank up to the four candidates in the primaries for election by preference. This would make it so that candidates who were preferred by the majority of Idahoans would be elected, ensuring a far less polarized political system in Idaho due to the dissolution of party significance on ballots.
It’s not a surprise that some Idaho Republicans highly detest the concept of open primaries and ranked choice voting. It would prevent the party from continuing to have complete control over election results solely due to candidates’ political party affiliation. One of the common arguments that Republicans have attempted to make is that ranked choice voting would “Californicate” Idaho’s election system. In reality, Idaho would be following in the footsteps of Alaska, another Republican Majority state that has already adopted the contemporary election system.
Another fallacy that the Idaho Republican party tries to convey is that Prop 1 would make elections more complex. But with open primaries, there would no longer be multiple primaries, but instead a singular primary where all Idahoans can vote to rank the top four candidates they’d like to see on the ballot.
Idaho’s current election system is failing to give voice to nearly half of its registered voters. The Idaho Republican party currently has the appalling ability to push forward candidates into political seats without the opinions of other parties. This has contributed to the increasingly radical and polarized state Senate and House, both of which have continued to antagonize non-Republican Idaho voters. By voting Yes on Prop 1, Idaho can move forward and start to elect candidates on their values and aspirations, rather than their political party.
Yvonne Sandmire
An attempt to repeal Alaska's open primary & ranked choice voting system has failed. Alsakans tried it, liked it, and kept it.
Joey
This is a very dishonest article. Alaska is voting to end ranked choice voting because it was a total failure in the 2022 election. There are no positive examples of ranked choice voting working, which is why prop 1 fans somehow only talk about open primaries in their ads. Also, any voter is welcome to register as a republican whenever they want.