More voice, more choice

Thanks to Barry Johnson of the Veterans for Idaho Voters for his presentation on the Open Primaries Initiative last week at the Viola Community Center. The Open Primaries Initiative would end closed primary elections and give all voters, including independent voters who do not belong to a party, the right to vote in all Idaho elections.

I want to clear up one concern expressed by Sen. Dan Foreman at the event. He noted that the initiative includes ranked choice voting, and he stated that the initiative does not address the fact that the legislature banned ranked choice voting last year. However, upon reading the initiative carefully, the last page, Section 39 of the initiative clearly states, “That Section 34-903B, Idaho Code, be and the same is hereby repealed.” Therefore, the initiative does indeed address the issue, and clearly states that if the initiative is passed by a majority of Idaho voters, the ban on ranked choice voting will automatically be repealed.

Another attendee questioned whether the ranked choice voting process proposed in the initiative protects the principle of “one person, one vote.” In the general election, each voter will have the freedom to pick their top choice and to select backup choices, if they choose to do so. Everyone has the same opportunity to do this. In the final result, one person’s vote will only count for one candidate. Therefore, the “one person, one vote” rule is upheld.

The Open Primaries Initiative gives all voters, including Idaho’s 270,000 unaffiliated voters, an opportunity to vote in every election without having to declare any party affiliation. And by giving voters the opportunity to rank more than one choice in general elections, the initiative gives all voters more voice and more choice. I encourage everyone to sign the petition.

Kathy Dawes

Moscow