BOISE, Idaho — A new coalition wants to change the way Idahoans vote in Idaho's primary elections - and as anticipated, the idea is receiving pushback from Republican lawmakers and Idaho GOP leaders.
On Thursday, Republican Party of Idaho Chairwoman Dorothy Moon responded to the initiative claiming that the idea imports "Leftist ideas from Oakland or Brooklyn."
The Idahoans for Open Primaries coalition wants to change the way Idaho votes for its state representatives by expanding Idaho primaries to include more than two candidates via a voting method called 'instant runoff voting' (IRV), also known as 'ranked-choice voting' (RCV).
Critics of the idea argue that IRV and open primaries will convolute the process and favor Democrats.
"Now a Leftist group is bringing this initiative to repeal 'one person, one vote' and replace it with a complicated scheme of ranked multi-voting, where voters choose multiple candidates and their votes are tabulated in a hidden process," said Moon.
Instant Runoff Voting:
The idea the coalition is pitching to Idaho: a top four non-partisan primary election. Where all candidates, regardless of party affiliation, participate in a single primary election. The top four candidates then advance to the general election.
From there, the general election will go into an instant runoff to choose the winner. Voters will pick their top candidate, then rank the remaining candidates in order of their preference.
If no candidate wins over 50 percent of the vote after the "first-choice" rankings are tallied, the candidate in last place will be eliminated and each vote for that eliminated candidate is then transferred to the candidate who came in second place. This process goes on until a candidate gets over 50 percent of the vote and is declared the winner.
Moon argues that the IRV voting method (already adopted by Maine and Alaska) is susceptible to abuse and voting manipulation.
"Even California governors Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom called this kind of voting untrustworthy, expensive, and overly complex. Every jurisdiction that has adopted this system has seen voting participation plummet. Idaho's system works without importing Leftist ideas from Oakland or Brooklyn," said Moon.
"Alaska votes this way, and just last week the Alaska Supreme Court found that significant errors in the hidden tabulation system caused the wrong candidates to advance to the second and third rounds of counting."
Two states (Maine and Alaska) currently hold statewide instant runoff elections; and six states (Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, South Carolina and Georgia) use instant runoff voting for military and overseas voters.
According to a survey conducted by Utah Ranked Choice Voting and Y2 Analytics conducted in 2021, 52 percent of the Utah voters who participated in the study said the election system was "very easy" to understand.
A 2022 Alaska survey found that 52 percent of Alaska voters were in support of voting method.
Idahoans for Open Primaries coalition:
The coalition consists of community groups and civic organizations including the Idaho Task Force of Veterans for Political Innovation, North Idaho Women, Represent US Idaho, the Hope Coalition and Reclaim Idaho.
According to coalition Campaign Manager Ashley Prince, the ballot initiative aims to give Idahoans the freedom to vote in open, nonpartisan primary elections, giving all Idaho voters a voice.
"The coalition is critical of Idaho's closed Republican primary, which blocks independent voters from participating in elections unless they join a political party," said the coalition's statement.
The Idahoans for Open Primaries coalition is launching a signature campaign to qualify a ballot initiative for the November 2024 general election.
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