Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Republicans introduced a bill in the Senate to close their GOP primary to all but registered party voters starting in 2012. Under Monday's measure, Republicans would vote in GOP primary races, while Democrats would vote in Democratic primaries. Party leaders —likely their central committees — could allow unaffiliated voters to participate, with their ballot choice becoming a public record. Voters could switch sides by the close of the candidate filing period before each primary election. This has long been a goal of GOP conservatives who suspect crossover voting, allowed since 1972, has produced candidates who fail to hew closely enough to Republican principles. The bill comes after a federal judge ruled that Idaho's 38-year-old open primary system violates the GOP's right to associate with whom it wishes while nominating candidates.

The bill introduction came the same morning that JFAC approved spending $100,000 in state general funds to pay the legal costs of the Idaho Republican Party, which successfully sued the state to overturn the current primary election system.