Idaho ballot initiative attempts to eliminate closed primaries; institute ranked-choice voting

| Adam Schwager | NonStop Local KHQ |

IDAHO – Idaho has operated a closed primary system since 2011, requiring voters to be registered members of the party they wish to vote for. This bars all independents from voting in the primary election.

“Over a quarter million independent voters in Idaho are blocked in the most important elections,” Luke Mayville, a co-founder of Reclaim Idaho said.

The right to vote in the primary

Reclaim Idaho was on the front lines of the state’s ballot initiative to expand Medicaid in 2018, and are now one of several organizations working together under the ‘Idahoans for Open Primaries” banner, attempting to dismantle the current primary and general election system.

“Everyone would have the right to vote in the primary elections and then the top four candidates who win the most votes in the primary would go onto the general election,” Mayville explained.

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