District 1 volunteers celebrate Open Primaries goal
Luke Mayville talks to Open Primaries Initiative volunteers at an event Saturday to announce the goal had reached its signature goal in Boundary and Bonner counties.
(Photo courtesy CLARICE McKENNEY)
Open Primaries Initiative volunteers celebrated a big milestone Saturday — qualifying the measure for the 2024 ballot.
“Legislative District 1 is one of the very first districts in Idaho with enough signatures to qualify our Citizens’ Initiative for the 2024 ballot,” Luke Mayville told initiative volunteers from Bonner and Boundary counties who packed Sandpoint Community Hall.
While initiative opponents claim that matter is a partisan issue, Mayville said that isn't the case. The truth, he added, is that the coalition is a grass-roots group of members from all political parties.
"They claim supporters are just from urban centers like Boise, but you all from Boundary and Bonner counties are sending a strong message that this initiative is driven by citizens in rural as well as urban areas in Idaho.”
Among the groups and organizations forming the coalition — and gathering signatures — are Republicans for Open Primaries, which includes former Gov. Butch Otter and former Idaho First Lady Lori Otter, Mayville said.
Mayville's announcement that District 1 was one of five districts to already qualify for the ballot prompted cheering and applause.
“This is what was intended over 100 years ago when Citizen Initiatives were begun," he said. "Thanks for building the momentum here in District 1.
Mayville said the total number of signatures in Idaho now has reached 45,000, well on its way to the total needed to make the ballot. At least 63,000 signatures must be found by county clerks’ offices to be registered voters, and then the clerks certify and send them to the Idaho Secretary of State's office.
“We want 100,000 signatures to guarantee the total number of registered voters needed,” he said.
Some of the signatures collected over the past four months were rejected for one of several reasons, including name changes or moves within the county since voters last registered, Mayville said.
“We still have nearly five months to gather the number we need from each of 18 districts and across the state,” he said. “We need all the districts who have achieved their required 6% of registered voters’ signatures to keep collecting because every signature counts toward the state’s total.”