The Open Primaries initiative proposes changes to both the primary and the general elections for partisan county and statewide elections. Neither judicial nor local elections would be changed, nor would any nonpartisan election, e.g. library or school board.
Changes to the Primary:
The initiative proposes that registered voters from any political party and unaffiliated registered voters receive the same ballot at a primary election. As described by Reclaim Idaho, the primary election would be open to all candidates including write-ins, no matter the party. Each voter choses one, and the four candidates with the most votes during the primary election, would then appear on the ballot for the general election. This is referred to as a “top four” primary system.
Changes to the General Election:
The general election would then be conducted using Instant Runoff Voting (IRV), a version of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV). Of the four candidates on the general election ballot, in the first round of tally, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated. Then, all of the ballots listing the eliminated candidate as the first choice would have the voter’s next highest choice transferred to that named candidate. Next, the candidate of the remaining three receiving the least total votes would be eliminated and voters’ ballots listing the eliminated candidate as their first choice, would have the voter’s next highest choice moved to that named candidate. Eventually, after rounds of counting two candidates remain and the candidate with the most votes is declared the winner.
Would the party affiliation of candidates be provided on the primary election ballots?
The initiative says, “Candidates could list any affiliation on the ballot, but would not represent political parties, and need not be associated with the party they name.”
With the voting methods system proposed by the Open Primaries initiative, could the eventual winner be the candidate who received the most second place votes, including those moved from the ballots of the eliminated candidates?
Yes, that could happen. The system is designed to combine all of the preferences of the voters.
Would the proposed Open Primaries initiative mean that voters would need to rank all four people on the general election ballot?
Voting for more than one candidate is NOT required by the initiative. However, with the tally system that keeps the votes cast for eliminated candidates and transfers them to the voter’s other preferred candidates, it is advisable for voters to indicate all of their choices in the order of their preferences.
Wouldn’t ranking multiple candidates translate into more than one vote per person?
No. The final tally is using one ballot per person and the voter’s ranked choices to assign their single vote in order of the preferences listed by the voter.
Are there estimates on election costs if the system changes?
The website for Idahoans for Open Primaries reports that a survey done by the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) found that the cost is approximately .43 cents per voter, or about $425,000 for Idaho.
Didn’t the Idaho legislature pass legislation prohibiting the use of ranked choice voting (RCV), aka as instant runoff voting (IRV)?
Yes. The Open Primaries initiative includes a clause that negates legislation passed before the effective date of the initiative which is January 1, 2025.
If the initiative is certified for the ballot and is approved by the voters, can it be negated by the Idaho legislature?
Yes, although if the voting public in Idaho approves the initiative, the public will be already organized to advocate on behalf of their new system.
For a copy of the Open Primaries initiative, go to: https://sos.idaho.gov/elections/initiatives/2024/idaho_open_primaries_act.pdf
For additional Frequently Asked Questions go to: Idahoans for Open Primaries at https://openprimariesid.org.
