Idaho Republican Party targets ballot initiatives, Section 8 vouchers in resolutions

The Idaho Republican Party aims to drive legislation this year with nine resolutions presented to lawmakers on topics like ballot initiatives, renter protections and fentanyl charges. The party adopted the resolutions, which are statements on policy preferences for the Legislature, earlier this month at its winter meeting. Dorothy Moon, who chairs the state Republican Party, announced the resolutions at the Idaho Capitol on Monday, the first day of the legislative session. Here are some of the most notable changes the state party is pushing for.

ELIMINATE CITIZEN-LED BALLOT INITIATIVES

The party’s first resolution supports limiting or removing citizen-led ballot initiatives. The resolution affirmed support for three alternatives: requiring two-thirds of voters to support a ballot initiatives for it to pass; requiring 60% support for initiatives related to tax increases, “the creation of a new government program,” drug law changes or election law changes; or removing the initiative process entirely through an amendment to the Idaho Constitution. Advocacy groups in the state are gathering signatures for a voter initiative that would end closed primaries and implement ranked choice voting. The Idaho GOP has had a closed primary for over a decade that allows only registered Republicans to vote in primary elections, which determine the Republican candidates who then move on to the general election. Advocates for ending closed primaries have argued that they only allow a small subset of voters to elect officials, since Republicans win most elected offices in the state. Open primaries would allow any voter to vote in the primary election.

Ranked-choice voting, which has been implemented in other states, would ask voters to rank their preferred candidates in order. Those candidates with the fewest supporters would be eliminated, and those who voted for them would have their votes shifted to their second choice. The process would continue until two candidates remain, and the candidate with the most support would win. Advocates of the effort argue that the ranking process would result in winning candidates who have broader support. Idaho Republicans like Moon have labeled the effort as a “pernicious plot” to undermine the election of conservative lawmakers, and some Republicans have bridled at past citizen-led efforts, like a 2018 ballot initiative that expanded Medicaid coverage to more low-income people. After gathering signatures from 6% of voters in 18 legislative districts, voter initiatives require a majority vote to be approved statewide. “A lot of people think that’s a pretty low threshold,” Moon said. Luke Mayville, executive director of Idahoans for Open Primaries, in a statement to the Idaho Statesman said the closed primaries block 270,000 independent voters from voting in primary elections, and said the initiative effort has secured more than 50,000 signatures so far. He said the change to open primaries would help Idahoans elect leaders who “listen to their communities and solve real problems.”

The proposal has been endorsed by prominent Republicans, including former Gov. Butch Otter and former House Speaker Bruce Newcomb. “The proposed restrictions on the initiative process are a flagrant attempt by party insiders to silence even more voters,” Mayville said. “Idaho has some of the toughest signature requirements of any state in the nation. These proposals would make it virtually impossible for voters to exercise their initiative rights.”

Dorothy Moon, chairwoman of the Idaho Republican Party, leads a watch party for Idaho Republican candidates at the Grove Hotel in Boise on Nov. 8, 2022. Moon presented the party’s resolutions on the first day of the 2024 legislative session.

MANDATE TO ACCEPT SECTION 8 VOUCHERS

Another resolution takes aim at Boise leaders’ efforts to prevent landlords from discriminating against residents based on the source of their income. The Boise City Council in September passed an ordinance banning landlords from denying prospective tenants a lease based on their income sources. The council had in mind renters who receive income from child support or government vouchers like Section 8 assistance, which help low-income Americans pay for housing.

Many landlords around the country do not accept the vouchers, which can make it difficult to find an apartment. Boise Mayor Lauren McLean has said the ordinance prevents discrimination against low-income residents. All members of the Boise City Council voted in favor of the ordinance except for Luci Willits, the only Republican. The GOP’s resolution calls for lawmakers to prohibit ordinances that “mandate Idaho property owners to be forced to participate in an optional Federal Housing Assistance program,” which would include Section 8.

“We’re not going to let anybody come in and tell us who we have to rent our property to,” Moon said.

U.S. CITIZENS AS POLICE OFFICERS

One resolution would require police officers to be U.S. citizens. The resolution also asks for a requirement that police officers who enter Idaho from other jurisdictions also be citizens. The Idaho State Police requires officers to be citizens, as does Boise. But multiple states in recent years have opened their applicant pools to non-citizens amid an officer shortage.

IDAHO COUNTIES’ PICK ON COMMISSIONERS

GOP officials passed a resolution requiring the governor to appoint a county commission’s first choice to fill vacant positions. When there are vacancies in elected state positions, local political parties submit three names in order of preference to the governor, but the executive is allowed to choose any of the three under current law.

Moon said when she was previously a liaison between the state GOP and the Legislature, she remembers county officials getting “miffed” that past governors wouldn’t always choose the locals’ top choice. “Counties want their preferred choice of the people they know to be put into the office for the county,” Moon said. “If anyone takes this on to the Legislature, please include any elected position that is being filled for a vacancy, death or otherwise.”

‘DARK MONEY’ IN POLITICS

The GOP also accepted a resolution condemning “dark money in Idaho campaign finance,” which specifically referenced the Boise-based Idaho Liberty Political Action Committee. The Idaho Liberty PAC has gotten attention in conservative Idaho media in recent months for producing election materials against Sens. Tammy Nichols, R-Middleton, Chris Trakel, R-Caldwell, and Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, last year.

The resolution said the PAC sponsored more than $50,000 in “attack ads” against Republican lawmakers in Canyon County, which were “obscured by indirect contributions through other PACs.” The Idaho Liberty PAC raised $105,000 last year from the Idaho Victory Fund, which has donated widely to Republican politicians, according to campaign finance records. The PAC has previously received donations from companies connected to developer Tommy Ahlquist, the retailer Melaleuca and the Idaho Association of Retailers.

MANDATORY MINIMUMS FOR FENTANYL TRAFFICKING

The GOP said it supports mandatory minimum sentences for fentanyl trafficking convictions. During his State of the State address Monday, Gov. Brad Little called fentanyl a “scourge,” and he has previously sent Idaho State Police troopers to the Mexican border to train with Texas law enforcement.

SECURITY AT ‘GUN-FREE’ ZONES

One resolution from the party asks lawmakers to pass a law requiring entities that “institute gun-free zones” provide “comprehensive security measures” to protect people in those zones, as well as deploying “trained, armed guards” to the locations.

The resolution also asks to “shield” property owners from “the liability for violent acts committed by third parties” when they decline to ban guns in particular locations. Want the latest news on the Idaho Legislature? Sign up for Capitol Letters, a newsletter we send for every day of the legislative session. We'll keep you up to date on bills in the process of becoming law.