Attorney General Labrador Files Court Challenge to Deceptively Marketed ‘Ranked Choice Voting’ and ‘Top Four Primary’ Ballot Initiative

[BOISE] - Attorney General Raúl Labrador filed a petition today with the Idaho Supreme Court in a challenge to ballot initiative that has been deceptively and inaccurately promoted as the "Open Primary Initiative." The petition for a writ of prohibition or writ of mandate addresses two flaws with the initiative.

First, despite a crystal-clear prior ruling from the Idaho Supreme Court that the initiative does not propose an "open primary," Idahoans for Open Primaries and its members systematically called it that to obtain the necessary signatures to support the initiative. They repeatedly described their initiative to citizens through their websites, signage, social media, trainings, canvassing efforts, and in interviews and statements that the proposed initiative would implement "open primaries" when the Idaho Supreme Court ruled last year that the initiative "does not describe an 'open primary' system."

Second, the initiative makes distinct changes to the primary election and separately to the voting system used in general election, which violates the single-subject rule for legislation and initiatives. This initiative would eliminate party primaries and also institute a complex and multi-stage ranked-choice voting system for the general election, involving multiple ballot counts and vote shifting between candidates that lacks basic transparency.

"The so-called "Open Primary Initiative" has nothing to do with open primaries, and thousands of Idahoans were misled into signing the petition by signature collectors who misrepresented the initiative. Last year, the Idaho Supreme Court refused to let the initiative's sponsors call the initiative an "Open Primary Initiative" and unambiguously ruled that the initiative does not propose an open primary system. The sponsors have not only ignored the Court's direction, they have snubbed their nose at the Court's ruling," said Attorney General Labrador. "The sponsors also buried ranked-choice voting in the initiative and again misrepresented the initiative to voters. Idaho law does not allow such abuse of the initiative process. It is unacceptable and jeopardizes the integrity of the Court's prior ruling and the initiative process itself."

As the Petition explains, "An "open primary" is what Idaho had before 2011," but "[t]he initiative and the old system have essentially nothing in common." Nevertheless, "the initiative's sponsors disregarded the Court's ruling and sold the initiative as 'open primaries' anyway. By doing so, they violated Idaho Code § 34-1815 and voided the signatures supporting their initiative."

This petition for a writ of prohibition or mandate requests the Idaho Supreme Court order the Idaho Secretary of State to reject the initiative on these grounds and disallow the initiative on the November ballot.