Eye on Boise: Denney’s latest clarification is about his view on primary

Lawerence Denney, the Republican candidate for Idaho secretary of state, last week backed off from statements he made in a debate suggesting he would do away with Idaho’s primary election.

“I think you misunderstood what I said,” Denney told reporters during a live debate on Idaho Public TV last week against his opponent, state Rep. Holli Woodings, D-Boise. “Certainly I do believe that a primary election is not necessarily an election at all, it’s a nomination process, and it is a party nomination process, and I think the parties deserve to choose their own candidates.”

A day earlier in a debate at the City Club of Boise, Denney said, “I think it’s important that Republicans nominate Republican candidates and that Democrats nominate Democrat candidates, and I think that there could be a process that’s a lot better than what we’re doing now.”

But at the public TV debate, he said, “We have a long tradition of having the primary and having the ballot. What I am concerned about is having the taxpayers of the state of Idaho actually paying for a party nomination process.”

Woodings said she supports continuing the state’s primary election.

“I believe that if they’re open and available to all the voters of Idaho to choose which primary they would like to vote in, that that’s absolutely something that we should be administering as a state.”

It wasn’t the first time Denney has taken what appears to be a controversial position during the campaign and then stepped back from it. In an essay published in the Idaho Statesman on what he would do in his first 100 days in office, if elected, Denney wrote, “One of my priorities is to work on measures to enhance the security of the election process, such as new technology that scans either signatures or fingerprints. There is a cost for increased security, and I hope to work with the Legislature to start the appropriate process for implementation as soon as possible.”

After an outcry, Denney said he had no intention of requiring Idahoans to be fingerprinted to vote.

“I was talking about technology that is available,” he said during the public TV debate, which was part of the “Idaho Debates,” co-sponsored by the Idaho Press Club and the League of Women Voters. “The same technology for scanning signatures and for scanning fingerprints is the same. I think that once you scan a signature, you know that the person who is voting is the person who they say they are. I will not give up the security of the ballot for convenience.”

During the same debate, Denney spoke extensively about concerns he has about same-day voter registration at the polls; Idaho is one of just eight states that offer that.

“Same-day registration I think at times overwhelms the system,” he said. “I think there are too many people that come in and register to vote on the same day.” He added, “I think there’s some ways that fraud can be perpetuated.”

But when asked if he’s advocating ending same-day voter registration in Idaho, Denney said, “Actually no, that’s a policy decision. … If the Legislature and the governor decided to do that, we would enforce the law. But I am not advocating that at all.”

Woodings said she “very much” supports same-day voter registration.

“Same-day voter registration is a great convenience for Idaho voters. It does still ensure the sanctity of the ballot,” she said. “It actually shows in states that have it an increase of 10 to 12 percent in participation, and that’s something that I very much support.”

No handshake

Before the only debate between Idaho Sen. Jim Risch and Democratic challenger Nels Mitchell last week, Mitchell tried to shake Risch’s hand, but Risch refused and turned away. “I was surprised,” Mitchell said afterward; so were onlookers.

At the end of the debate, with the cameras rolling, the two did shake hands.

Risch’s campaign had no comment on the incident.

GOP statement

The Idaho Republican Party has issued a statement commending GOP Gov. Butch Otter and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden for continuing the state’s court fight against same-sex marriage, saying the party’s platform calls on Idaho officials to “use all means possible to prevent expansion of the definition of marriage beyond that of a bond between one man and one woman.”