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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Closed-primary lawsuit proposes historic change for state

In the federal lawsuit Idaho GOP v. Ysursa, which now will continue further into the fall (see earlier posts today), the Idaho Republican Party sued the state, seeking to close its primary elections to anyone other than registered Republicans. Currently, any voter can select which party's ballot to vote at the polls. But here's where the case intersects with Idaho history: "Idaho's never had party registration, in its history, and Idahoans pride themselves on their independence," said Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa.  "Idahoans as a whole, and the independent voter and how they're treated is a crucial part of this whole scenario," Ysursa said, "and there's quite a bit of disagreement over that."



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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