The Idaho Open Primaries Initiative
The initiative will end Idaho’s closed primary elections and create a non-partisan primary system, open to all voters regardless of party affiliation. The top four candidates will advance to the general election.
In the general election, voters will have the freedom to pick their top candidate and also to rank additional candidates in order of preference.
To make sure the winner enjoys support from a broad coalition of voters and not just a narrow faction, there will be Instant Runoff Voting in the general election (also called “ranked choice voting”). Here’s how it works: The last-place candidate will be eliminated and each vote for that candidate will be transferred to the voter's second choice. This process repeats until only two candidates remain, and the candidate with the most votes is declared the winner.
Why support the Open Primaries Initiative? There are at least two big reasons: This initiative will give us more freedom and better leadership.
More freedom. It’s wrong that Idaho blocks independent voters from participating in elections unless they join a political party. The Open Primaries initiative will give all voters, regardless of party affiliation, the freedom to vote in all elections.
Better leadership. By giving voice and power back to Idaho voters, the Open Primaries initiative will help elect more independent-minded leaders who are focused on solving problems, not wasting time with distractions and controversies that turn us against each other.
The Open Primaries Initiative gives us a way to strike at the root of so many of Idaho's problems. Instead of targeting one injustice at a time, we have a chance to target the broken political system that generates so much injustice year after year.
Working together, we can return power to voters and make Idaho a better place to live. Will you join us today?
