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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Otter on signing presidential primary bill: ‘You can’t put a price on that’

Asked why Gov. Butch Otter signed SB 1066, the bill to create a new $2 million presidential primary the second Tuesday of March, Otter’s spokesman, Jon Hanian, said today, “There were some concerns previously about absentee and military folks not being able to be represented” in party presidential nominating caucuses. “That’s primarily the reason,” Hanian said. “The concerns about absentees and military was, I think, a central concern. … He believes that you can’t put a price on that.”

The new presidential primary would be in addition to Idaho’s existing May primary during presidential election years, which come once every four years. The bill passed the Senate on a 23-11 vote, and the House, 50-19.



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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