OPINION: Why is the Idaho Legislature so eager to silence voters?
On March 5, 2024, the Idaho House State Affairs Committee voted to advance House Bill 652 restricting citizen initiatives to the House floor, recommending passage.
Why should you care?
Citizen-led initiatives give ordinary people a voice in determining the laws they must live by, as a safeguard against oppressive laws, legislatures in the pocket of powerful special interests or politicians who refuse to act on behalf of the people.
Initiatives enable voters to bypass their state legislature by placing proposed statutes directly on the ballot, especially if, year after year, legislators FAIL to do their jobs. Citizen-led initiatives give a voice to the people who have had their efforts stymied, their needs ignored, and their ideas devalued. While it takes a massive and complex effort involving thousands of citizens to even get an initiative on the ballot — that’s why it is successful so infrequently — the final decision always lies completely with the people: the voters make the choice on election day. What a clear example of direct DEMOCRACY.
Idaho citizens have used their right to the ballot initiative responsibly and judiciously. Very few issues qualify for Idaho’s ballot because the process is already stringent. In 134 years of Idaho history, only 28 ballot measures have been successfully placed before voters. Even fewer receive Idahoans’ approval when they do appear. Just 15 of those 28 initiatives have passed — an average of only one every nine years.
However, this rarely used process of direct democracy is apparently a great THREAT to Idaho legislators who want to drown out the voices of the very constituents they are tasked to represent.
In 1994, the Legislature added harsh restrictions to the citizens’ initiative process to discourage its use after voters successfully passed a term limits initiative, and again in 2012 after voters used the initiative to overturn the unpopular Luna Laws.
In 2018, citizen volunteers gathered an unprecedented 75,134 signatures in 21 legislative districts to successfully place Medicaid Expansion on the ballot, requiring the state to accept federal funds to extend health care to their fellow Idahoans. Prop 2 was approved across party lines by a clear majority — 61%. However, Idaho’s Republican-led Senate stepped in with SB 1159, nearly doubling the signature requirements to place an initiative on the ballot while giving organizers a third the collection time to compile them.
Former Idaho Attorney General and Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Jones stated then: “Some legislators are offended when the people take the law into their own hands. Some think the voters are not smart enough to be able to pass legislation on their own — to second guess the elected representatives. There are often legislative efforts to repeal or redo when the people have spoken through passage of initiatives or referenda.”
Undeterred, the Legislature passed SB 1110 in 2021, requiring signatures from 6% of voters in all 35 legislative districts, making it virtually impossible to bring any ballot initiative forward. Fortunately, the Idaho Supreme Court took up the case, found the law unconstitutional and blocked the implementation of it. Writing for the majority, Idaho Supreme Court Justice Moeller stated that the ballot initiative law violates the Idaho Constitution “because the initiative and referendum powers are fundamental rights, reserved to the people of Idaho.”
Here we go again with HB 652!
HB 652 reduces the time period for signature collection by a month, from April to March.
HB 652 requires that names and addresses of signers be published for 60 days during which they can “change their minds.” Currently, Idaho law mandates that initiative signatures be hand-written on a paper petition, collected in the presence of the (human) circulator, that signers "personally" place their name on the petition, that the petition be formally notarized, and that signatures be validated by the county clerk, assuring that the signature is from a registered voter whose information is accurate. However, these “removals” can be done online, with NO oversight. There are NO safeguards to prevent opponents of an initiative from forging signature removal requests and disenfranchising signers. Additionally, private citizen signers could be doxxed and threatened during this 60-day “public review” period by initiative opponents with malicious intent.
Yes, read that again. Imagine the stultifying effect that would have on any initiative gathering attempt? Who would ever sign a petition if it exposes one and one’s family to harassment and potential violence?
HB 652 would nullify any signature not turned in during the month it was signed, instead of the current one-time May deadline, adding an arduous, unnecessary burden to signature collectors. Disqualified signers would not even be notified; their support would just be tossed.
Coming for your initiative rights from another angle, Rep. Vito Barbieri, R-Dalton Gardens, is sponsoring an amendment, House Joint Resolution 3, in an effort to block a proposed open primary ballot initiative. If ratified, Barbieri’s amendment is designed to prohibit ranked choice voting, a component of the open primary ballot initiative that supporters are collecting signatures for at this very moment. Why not let the people decide what they want, Rep. Barbieri?
Legislators bemoan the lack of citizen involvement in politics and government and give lip service (“mouth honor/breath”) to the value of civic engagement. However, actions speak far louder than words. No matter what your personal politics may be, you should care about this attempt at restricting our rights.
HB 652 is about gutting the initiative process, and keeping people from exercising their constitutional legislative power.
HB 652 is about suppressing the ideas of the people and subverting their will.
HB 652 is about silencing our voices and rendering us powerless.
HB 652 is about marginalizing and disenfranchising voters.
HB 652 is about a clear disdain for the people.
And yes, HB 652 is about “teaching voters a lesson” for their audacity in using the initiative process to produce successful legislation in the past.
Idaho’s ballot initiative is an important constitutional right, a precious legislative power that should be protected, not thwarted. The Declaration of Independence asserts that “we the people” have a duty to change a government that is destructive of the people's rights.
Contact your legislators (house reps and senators) directly, subscribe to their mailing lists, and tell them vote NO on HB 652 and any bills that would further restrict citizen initiatives: https://legislature.idaho.gov/legislators/whosmylegislator/
Contact Gov. Brad Little’s office at 208-334-2100 or governor@gov.idaho.gov, remind him of his obligation to protect and defend Idahoans’ constitutional rights, and ask him to VETO HB 625, should it pass.
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Elizabeth Rose is a Hayden resident.
