Idaho Supreme Court Dismisses Attorney General’s Challenge To Open Primaries Ballot Initiative
The Idaho Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit from state Attorney General Raúl Labrador (R) seeking to block an initiative from the November ballot that would implement an open primary system and other electoral reforms.
If approved by voters, the initiative — which garnered nearly 63,000 signatures to appear on the November ballot — would replace the state’s closed primary election system with a single open top-four primary in which all the candidates, regardless of party affiliation, participate.
Under the proposed open primary system, the top four candidates receiving the most votes would appear on the general election ballot, where voters would then select their preferred candidates using a ranked-choice voting system. The initiative, according to its website, would apply to all partisan primaries with the exception of those for president or precinct committeeperson.
As part of a petition filed last month in the Idaho Supreme Court, Labrador argued that the initiative used “false and misleading statements to obtain the required number of signatures” since it does not refer to “open primary” in the traditional sense — whereby parties hold separate primaries, but allow eligible voters of any party affiliation to participate.
In yesterday’s opinion tossing the lawsuit on procedural grounds, the Idaho Supreme Court concluded that Labrador’s “allegations of fraud in the gathering of signatures in the initiative process are serious,” but “must be adjudicated in the district court in the first instance.” Labrador has not yet indicated whether he plans to refile the suit in a lower court, but said in a statement that his office is reviewing its options for how to proceed.
Aside from asserting that all of the initiative signatures should be voided, Labrador had alleged the initiative violates the Idaho Constitution’s “single-subject rule,” which he said requires ballot initiatives to focus on only one issue. But the state Supreme Court yesterday concluded this claim would not be ripe for review “unless and until…Idaho voters approve the Initiative at the general election in November.”
A spokesperson for the coalition supporting the initiative deemed yesterday’s decision a “major victory for Idaho voters,” adding that the ruling “guarantees that the people of Idaho, not the attorney general, will decide whether primary elections should be open to all voters.”
Learn more about the case here.
Original post, July 25, 2024
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador (R) filed a lawsuit on Wednesday to block a ballot initiative to open the state’s primary elections, allowing all voters — regardless of party registration — to vote for any candidate.
The ballot initiative, spearheaded by the group Idahoans for Open Primaries, collected some 63,000 signatures to qualify it to be on the November ballot. Should it pass, it would end the state’s closed primary election system in favor of a single open primary in which all the candidates, regardless of party affiliation, participate. Voters would then cast their vote for whoever they want and the four candidates with the most votes would advance to the general election, no matter what party they’re affiliated with. The ballot initiative would also alter the state’s general elections by introducing a ranked-choice system.
According to the initiative’s website, the proposed changes to Idaho’s elections would apply to all offices that involve partisan primaries, with the exception being presidential elections and precinct committeemen.
In his lawsuit, Labrador argues that the ballot initiative violates the state’s constitution because it doesn’t follow the “single-subject rule,” meaning ballot initiatives can only focus on one subject. Labrador also argues the initiative used “false and misleading statements to obtain the required number of signatures” because it doesn’t use the term “open primary” in the traditional sense — where parties hold separate primaries but allow any registered voter, regardless of what party they’re registered under, to vote.
In the lawsuit, Labrador asked the Idaho Supreme Court to block the initiative from appearing on the Nov. 5 general election ballot. In response, Idahoans for Open Primaries spokesperson Luke Mayville told the Idaho Capital Sun that Labrador is trying to block the initiative out of fear of it passing. “He knows he can’t persuade the voters, so he’s trying to prevent them from having a say,” he said.