COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho —
An initiative that would open Idaho’s primary elections to all voters and implement ranked choice voting for general elections will appear on the November ballot, a judge ruled Thursday.
Fourth Judicial District Judge Patrick Miller dismissed the latest lawsuit brought by Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, who had sued to stop the initiative from going before voters.
The initiative has gathered enough valid signatures to qualify for the Nov. 5 general election, but Labrador argued that the “open primaries” title is deceptive because it suggests to voters that the ballot measure would restore the open partisan primaries that Idaho had prior to 2011, rather than creating an open primary and establishing a ranked choice voting system for general elections.
Initiative organizers denied the allegations. The court ruled in their favor.
“The evidence the attorney general submits actually negates the idea that the defendants perpetrated false statements to thousands of persons who actually signed a petition,” Miller’s ruling said in part. “The public presentations in the record thoroughly discuss both the top four and ranked-choice components of the initiative.”
Organizers said the ruling is a “significant win” for Idaho voters and the thousands of Idahoans who signed the open primaries petition.
“AG Labrador has tried at every turn to suppress the voices of Idahoans and disrupt the ballot initiative process,” Luke Mayville, spokesperson for Idahoans for Open Primaries, said in a news release Thursday morning. “But today, the people of Idaho prevail.”
To read the full story, visit our news partner, the Coeur d'Alene Press.
