As a combat veteran of the United States Marine Corps, I feel that I have more than earned the right to vote. But I am an Independent and, as a result, denied the right to vote in Idaho’s closed primary elections.

John French, January 31, 2024

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.

December 13, 2023

In our view, the pros for a primary system that welcomes the state’s 270,000 independent voters far outweigh any negatives. Voter participation will increase and radical, unqualified candidates will face a far harder time rising to power.

Editorial Board, Coeur d'Alene Press, December 3, 2023

Today’s closed primaries break with Idaho tradition and are filled with complex eligibility rules that make it harder to vote how you want. If you are registered with one party but want to vote on another, closed, party ballot, then you need to change your registration more than 10 weeks before the primary. An unaffiliated Independent voter can select a closed ballot by declaring a party affiliation on election day; however, this defeats the very idea of being Independent.

Todd Achilles, Paul Cunningham, Marv Hagedorn, Scott Syme, Kevin Trainor, Bonner County Daily Bee, November 30, 2023

Idaho’s constitutional framers also declined to grant power to political parties, even though they existed when our Constitution was drafted in 1889. The Idaho Constitution states that “all political power is inherent in the people” who have “the right to alter, reform or abolish” their government “whenever they may deem it necessary.” People could not exercise that awesome power if their right to vote was restricted by a party.

Thom Bruce, John Freeland, Stan Hall, Dave Looney, George Moses, Randy Worrall, Twin Falls Times-News, November 27, 2023

Moon claims to defend “one person, one vote” while simultaneously making it harder for folks to access the ballot. Idahoans see through this smokescreen.

Todd Achilles, Hannah Ball, Paul Cunningham, Marv Hagedorn, James Ruchti, Kevin Trainor, Christie Wood, Coeur d'Alene Press, Nov 24, 2023

The IFF has come out strong against the Open Primaries Initiative, so the threesome [Lenney, Herndon, Zuiderveld] must also oppose it. Zuiderveld kind of misfired on the issue, claiming on social media that the initiative’s sponsor, Reclaim Idaho, is a “communist PAC.” Her tweet had a screenshot of contributors to Reclaim Idaho, including Rich Stivers, a well-regarded Twin Falls Republican whose father served as House GOP Speaker back in the 1980s. She implied that Rich, a Vietnam veteran who put his life at risk fighting the communists, was a commie supporter? Ignorance must be blissful.

Jim Jones, Twin Falls Times-News, Nov 22, 2023