Rep. Marv Hagedorn (R-Meridian) was the lead sponsor of legislation last session that addressed party registration/closed primaries.
Here are some excerpts from Rep. Hagedorn’s blog:
The the Republican Party voting to close their Primary Election process is exactly the same thing the Democrats have done in their national Presidential Primary process, just a few years later than the Democrats did. The Republicans also considered a “Privately Funded Caucus” to select their candidates, but that was voted down in consideration of an accepted fair and unbiased State Election process that the citizens of Idaho already pay for and trust.
Holding a type of restricted, “members only” Primary to select a party’s candidates for the General Election in the fall has been found to be a right that is afforded to that party and it’s members (regardless of who’s party) by the Supreme Court. There have been numerous changes in the ways the Parties have selected their candidates in Idaho’s history and changes will continue by all of the Parties as time goes on.
The REAL issue here is our State’s laws regarding Primary Elections are not flexible enough to accommodate these past or future changes. Those laws should be able to accommodate a selection process that will ensure a fair and just election and appropriate voter safeguards ensuring that their vote counts when they exercise that right.
