Add requirements to get an initiative on the ballot? Bill draws controversy
House Bill 652, which sponsors claim increases transparency, is headed to the House floor after passing a committee Tuesday.
A ballot initiative bill moving through the statehouse has many Idahoans divided. If signed into law, House Bill 652 would add requirements to the process.
The bill moves the deadline for gathering signatures from April 30 to March 31. Organizers would have to turn in signatures to the county clerk monthly instead of the deadline, and there would be an additional 60 days after verification people could take their names off.
"It's a stress on the counties to verify all of the [signatures] at once," Bill co-sponsor John Vander Woude, R-Nampa, said. "This just gives us more of a routine, and I think it's helpful for the person gathering signatures because they always say, well, we have to gather so many over what we need in order to make sure because we know some of them won't be valid. This way, you'll know way ahead of time."
However, Boisean Georgia Boatman believes the bill complicates an already complicated process. Under Idaho law, campaigns need signatures from 6% of voters in 18 of Idaho's 35 legislative districts.
Boatman is currently collecting signatures for Reclaim Idaho's Open Primaries Initiative.
"It's like a solution in search of a problem," she said. "It feels like they're trying to throw up so many roadblocks that people will give up."
Jim Jones, former Idaho Supreme Court chief justice, agrees.
"It is a way to put a poison pill into the statute that can be exploited to remove enough signatures so that the initiative does not qualify for the ballot, and there's nothing that the proponents can do to cure it."
He also called the bill unconstitutional. In 2021, the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that the initiative is a fundamental right of the people, meaning any legislation restricting the process will be subject to "strict scrutiny."
Several local voter organizations against the bill sent statements, including BABE VOTE, the League of Women Voters of Idaho, and Reclaim Idaho. They believe the requirements would disenfranchise voters and open the door to fraud, claims Vander Woude denies.
“It is already extremely difficult for citizens to qualify an initiative for the ballot. This bill would make it even harder for Idahoans to exercise their rights.”
"It is already extremely difficult for citizens to qualify an initiative for the ballot," according to Reclaim Idaho. "This bill would make it even harder for Idahoans to exercise their rights."
"At this point, thousands of Idahoans across the political spectrum have participated in this popular process. Instead of feeling threatened by public participation, the Legislature would do well to support the will of the people and stop trying to short circuit the initiative process," a League of Women Voters of Idaho spokesperson said.
If the bill becomes law, Jones said the committee he is a part of, the Committee to Protect and Preserve the Idaho Constitution, will sue. He thinks there is a good chance the courts rule in their favor because of the 2021 decision.
The bill passed a House committee Tuesday. It is unknown when it will be heard on the House floor.
