BOISE, Idaho — Idaho GOP Chair Dorothy Moon and the Republican State Central Committee has made it clear, they want to see a presidential preference caucus, not a traditional primary vote, held in March 2024.
Republican leadership at the Idaho Statehouse said their constituents have a different opinion.
“What I'm hearing from my constituents and other members of the Republican Senate is that it's much better to let people go to the polls. You know, we've talked a lot about election integrity and making sure people have the right to vote. This is one of those issues we need to make sure that we do not exclude or disenfranchise people who want to participate in the presidential primary,” said Senate Majority Leader Kelly Anthon.
Leader Anthon along with the other Republican legislators received an email from Idaho GOP Party Chair Dorothy Moon. In it, Moon said the party will be having a March caucus unless lawmakers repeal House Bill 138, restoring the March election date. Lawmakers passed HB138 to consolidate the March and May elections in Idaho to save millions of dollars.
“I can tell you I am not voting to repeal something that is saving the taxpayers 3 million dollars every election cycle,” said House Majority Leader Megan Blanksma.
Leader Blanksma said lawmakers clearly voted to consolidate elections to save money, it isn’t something they will just undo on a whim. On top of that she is hearing concerns about a March caucus. Questions about voter turnout, format, traveling in winter weather and if different areas even have facilities to hold a caucus.
“What we're hearing from our constituents is, is there a way for you to help to make sure that all of the voices of the constituents that are registered Republicans are heard,” Blanksma said.
That is a complicated question because the State Central Committee and the Legislature operate in different spheres.
Leader Anthon appreciates the position of wanting a March primary, he pushed for the idea in the legislative session.
“I supported leaving the primary in March, but I also represent all of the Republicans in the Idaho State Senate, and it's very clear that the majority of Republicans wanted to move that primary. For me now, it's not so much about my own personal position on the thing. It's a matter of how can we allow the Idaho voter to go to the polls and cast their own votes to get as much participation as possible in choosing who should be nominated as a Republican presidential nominee,” Anthon said.
Lawmakers don’t want to call a special session for now because they may not be able to solve the issue if the SCC won’t budge on having a March caucus. On top of that, the clock is ticking on national deadlines for the GOP process.
“I don't I don't know that there's a legislative solution. I don't know if it means we start working with the National Party to see if we can find another avenue at least so people feel like they're heard. I, I don't we've, we've not come to any sort of solution to what our constituents are asking us for,” Blanksma said.
The Idaho Democratic State Central Committee unanimously voted in June to a call on the state legislature for a special session to reinstate presidential primary elections. The Democrats most recently ran a presidential caucus in 2016; it is an inferior election system compared to a primary, according to Idaho Democratic Party Executive Director Jared DeLoof.
"It's an incredibly difficult thing to pull off. It requires a ton of money. It requires incredible amount of planning. And essentially, you have to get all of the voters who want to participate into one room somewhere and actually be able to count them and have them cast their ballot in that sort of way," DeLoof said. "You have to ask the question, who does this benefit?"
The Democrats 2016 Caucus drew less than 24,000 votes. The 2020 Presidential Primary counted nearly 110,000 votes.
"[A caucus] takes hours," DeLoof said. "This is really gonna make it very hard for the elderly or people with disabilities or folks that work weekends or evenings to be able to participate. And that's why Democrats are solidly for bringing the primary system back."
The Democrats are preparing for a caucus if needed. The party aims to allow military members serving out of country to vote in the pending democratic caucus process.
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