| Bob Kustra | Yahoo News |
The Democratic Party in Idaho allows all voters including unaffiliated voters to cast a ballot in its primary. The Republican Party, on the other hand, mimics the party bosses of old and shuts down its primary election to anyone who is not officially registered as a Republican. If a Republican voter would rather not divulge party affiliation, he or she cannot vote in the Republican primary, which has become the deciding election in Idaho.
No one political party should be able to restrict who votes
To make it easier for Idahoans to vote in the primary, the Idahoans for Open Primaries coalition signed up thousands of Idahoans to get Proposition 1 on the November ballot. It gives all voters the opportunity to cast a vote in the primary of their choice by creating an open primary and ranked choice voting that gives Idahoans more say over who survives a primary and appears on the general election ballot. After all, Idaho’s elections are funded by taxpayer dollars and no one political party should be able to restrict who votes in which one.