New closed GOP primary lifts veil on party affiliation of political appointees
Idaho Statesman reporter Dan Popkey reports today that the controversial practice of appointing just independents and Republicans - and no Democrats - to some state boards that are required to not be dominated by members of one party has been placed in jeopardy, because the new closed GOP primary has revealed that some of those independents actually are Republicans - they've registered as Republicans in order to vote in the primary. Popkey found that of 117 members of boards and commissions with the party-split requirement, 10 switched in this year's primary from the affiliation they declared at the time of their appointment by the governor; you can read his full report here.