Idaho’s Legislature has an ugly history of playing politics with voting rights

Guest Editorial by Jim Jones

Extreme elements of Idaho’s Republican Party voted in 2011 to close the GOP primary election to purge party ranks of so-called moderates. The strategy has been remarkably successful. Each election since then has witnessed the defeat of reasonable Republicans who were intent on solving problems facing the Gem State. They were replaced by culture warriors, intent on punishing teachers, banning books, chasing away doctors, vilifying farm workers, and making the State a national laughingstock. That has been accomplished by preventing a wide range of Idahoans from voting in the low-turnout GOP primary. That makes it difficult for problem-solving Republicans to survive the primary.

While Idaho’s independents can vote in the GOP primary if, and only if, they declare themselves to be Republicans, many chafe at being forced to affiliate with any group in order to exercise their right to vote. Forcing citizens to affiliate with, or to disavow, any group as a condition of voting in taxpayer-financed elections is contrary to the spirit of Idaho’s Constitution. That revered document says that all political power belongs to the people. Political parties have no power under our Constitution. Unfortunately, our legislators have an ugly history of playing politics with the voting rights of Idahoans.

The most notorious example is an 1884 pre-statehood law specifically designed to deny voting rights to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The law did not require conviction of polygamy to deny voting rights, just belief or membership in a group that supported the practice. In effect, Mormons were required to disaffiliate from their church in order to vote. The Territorial Legislature passed that law to weaken the Democratic Party, which had the strong support of Mormon voters at that time. 

A friend, Paul Ross, just sent me an interesting historical recollection of how some church members skirted the law. They would sign an oath renouncing their church membership in order to vote, but then joined again soon after the election. That led to criminal charges against some, which resulted in the US Supreme Court upholding a conviction. Of course, that decision would not stand the test of time and reason.

The anti-Mormon law was written into Idaho’s original Constitution in an 1889 election in which Mormons were not allowed to vote. That Constitution also denied voting rights to Native Americans “who have not severed their tribal relations.” Thankfully, most of that outright discrimination is behind us.

Along a similar anti-voter track, successive Idaho Legislatures have repeatedly tried to kill or disable constitutional rights that voters gave themselves in 1912--to make laws with the initiative and to veto obnoxious legislative acts with the referendum.  The Legislature did not take action to implement the initiative and referendum until the 1930s. The last legislative effort to essentially kill those rights was made in legislation passed by extremists in 2021, but that effort was slapped down by the Idaho Supreme Court that same year.

The extremists, who have gained power by excluding voters from the closed GOP primary where most officials are selected, are feverishly working to defeat Prop 1. They claim it will infringe voting rights, when in fact it will enhance them. Everyone, regardless of party preference, will be able to take part in every tax-payer supported election. Voters will not be confined to just one party’s ticket but will be able to pick and choose among every candidate for every contested race in the primary election.

Best of all, Prop 1 will make it possible for reasonable Republican candidates to make it to the general election ballot. That’s why so many traditional Republicans, like former Governor Butch Otter, are supporting Prop 1. Dorothy Moon and Raul Labrador will no longer be able to defeat civil, problem-solving Republicans in the closed GOP primary. Nor will voters be forced to affiliate or disavow any group as a condition of voting in any election financed by their tax money.

About the Author

Jim Jones is a Vietnam combat veteran who served 8 years as Idaho Attorney General (1983-1991) and 12 years as a Justice on the Idaho Supreme Court (2005-2017). His columns are collected at JJCommonTater.com.