Idaho Republicans close doors to primary

BOISE – Idaho Republicans have voted to close their primary elections to people not registered with the party.

At a semiannual meeting of the Idaho Republican Party Central Committee on Saturday in Burley, delegates voted 88-58 to close the primaries.

The move doesn’t mean any immediate change.

Rod Beck, a former state senator from Boise who backed the plan, said the Idaho Republican Party could sue the Idaho secretary of state to get the primary process changed in Idaho, and the Idaho attorney general concluded earlier this year the state would likely lose such a challenge.

But Beck told the Associated Press he would rather the Republican Party work with the secretary of state’s and attorney general’s offices to petition the federal court to change how primaries work in Idaho.

“It’s going to take a while to implement it,” Beck said. “But ultimately, we’re going to have a stronger, more vibrant Republican Party as a result.”

Since the early 1970s, Idaho has had an “open primary” in which voters can choose a ballot from any party they want, but without having to register with that party.

But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2000 in a California case that states can’t force political parties to associate “with those who don’t share their political beliefs.”

The decision to close the Republican primary was blasted by Chuck Oxley, Idaho Democratic Party spokesman.

“This is further evidence that the far right wing has taken control of the Idaho Republican Party,” Oxley said in a statement. “Fairly soon, I think, mainstream Republicans are going to wake up and find themselves in an ideological abyss.”

Republicans dominate Idaho politics, holding 79 of 105 state lawmaker seats and all statewide elected posts. But Beck said the closed primary was needed to weed out those who were not true Republicans. He declined to name any lawmakers.

“I’m not going to make this personal,” he said. “There’s an increasing disconnect between officeholders and the party itself.”

He cited the issue of whether to allow more charter schools in the state. The Republican Party supports the idea, but lawmakers last session failed to advance it despite holding far more seats then Democrats.

Another issue, Beck said, is the closed primary itself, which he said has long been supported by the Republican Party.

There was an attempt in the 2007 Legislature to appease closed primary supporters without barring independents from voting, including a proposal that would have created a system of party registration for Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians – while still allowing unaffiliated voters their choice of primary ballots.

That effort sputtered, however, setting up this weekend’s showdown in Burley.

“I see no negatives (for a closed primary),” said Beck. “I see all positives.”

But some, including members of his party, were not behind closing the primary.

Kirk Sullivan, the GOP chairman now in his second term, said he didn’t think the outcomes of elections were being altered by having an open primary.

“I know for a fact there are people who cross over, but since I’ve been here I can’t point to a single race that was thrown off kilter because of people doing that,” he said.

But he said he supported the decision of the party.

“I really don’t know what the reaction is going to be (among voters),” he said. “We’ll have to see what questions come up and we’ll have to address them as they come up.”

Oxley said one problem with closed primaries is that they cause an invasion of privacy by making the political affiliation of voters a public record.

“That means your boss, your teacher, even your clergy will be able to check up on you,” he said. “Idahoans value their privacy and their independence, and this only takes it away from them.”

But Beck said it was important for the Republican Party to have a closed primary to better advance its goals.

“You dilute that when you allow people who are not Republicans, or who are not loyal to the Republican Party, to enter into those decisions,” he said.