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Update: Closed primary/party registration plan passes Sen. State Affairs on party-line vote, with Dems opposing — Idaho Reporter Twitter.
Gary Allen, attorney for a group of independent voters, told the Senate State Affairs Committee, “I'm here on my 50th birthday, and I can't think of any better way to spend it than talking about democracy.” He said he and his clients disagree with the federal court ruling overturning Idaho's current system, and are appealing it. Independents don't want to publicly declare affiliation with one party or another, he said. “In our view, this is an unnecessary intrusion on voters' privacy,” Allen said. “Frankly, our clients do not want to do this, and we've seen no evidence that other independents in Idaho want to do this either. At a time when Republican Party identification in Idaho is falling like a stone … I would not think that the Republican Party would want to poke independent voters in the eye”/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.
Question: Do you consider yourself a truly Independent voter who doesn't want to be affiliated with either major political party?
D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.
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Norther on March 30 at 8:42 a.m.
Nope.
Gary D Rhodes on March 30 at 8:49 a.m.
Yes.
The political parties are private. Let them use their own money and sort out the candidate they want to represent them on the ballot.
blueeyes7594 on March 30 at 8:57 a.m.
Yes. I have registered Independent ever since I was old enough to vote. It seems like lately that if you don’t fit exactly their mold for their party then they don’t want you.
DanGookin on March 30 at 9:29 a.m.
The problem: The parties are spending public money on their private primaries. Sometime in the future, 100% of the taxpayers will be paying for an event in which only 30% (or whatever) of the public can participate.
To the so-called “fiscal conservatives” in the GOP: That’s hogwash. You want a private primary, then hold a caucus and pay for it yourself.
DFO on March 30 at 9:35 a.m.
I’d like to know why the public has to pay for the precinct committee races of the two major parties. An argument can be made that the primaries have widespread public interest. But the precinct offices are entirely a party function … and shouldn’t be on the ballot. Let the Republicans pay for their own precinct committee elections.
Arpie on March 30 at 9:37 a.m.
I agree with DG. The public should not pay for a private election.
Charlie on March 30 at 11:55 a.m.
If voting for the person and not the party means you are an independent, than I am. I like someone who is on the fiscal conservative side, spend the peoples money wisely. By the same token, if their words do not equal their deeds, no second term.
kamm on March 30 at 1:25 p.m.
I’ve been fiercely Independent since I first registered to vote. But I see the writing on the wall and I’m going to be a closet Republican. My reasoning is that I’ll have a voice in voting against the worse of the worse and can still vote Independently in the general election. (Sorry Mom.)