Idaho Republicans are trying to control voting in the Gem State as much as possible, spurred by the fear that Democrats are a threat to their supermajority.

This week, they resurrected a bill to close their party primary to Democrats and Libertarians and stood by as state Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, chairman of the House State Affairs Committee, unilaterally tabled a popular vote-by-mail bill. The closed-primary bill has been shot down twice, before the Idaho Senate revived it this week, despite opposition from respected Secretary of State Ben Ysursa and county clerks. The vote-by-mail bill died when Loertscher pulled it back from the House floor after his committee approved it on an 11-7 vote in February.

Loertscher, who was roundly criticized this session for helping kill day-care safety rules and background checks by saying women should stay home with their children, promised another hearing on the legislation but failed to follow through. He defended his actions in pulling back the vote-by-mail legislation by saying he has problems with it. But he couldn’t remember what those problems were.

Despite their overwhelming numbers in the Legislature and complete control of state executive offices and the congressional delegation, Republicans are thumbing their noses at voters who prefer the traditional open-primary system and a chance to vote by mail. They’re banking on blind party loyalty to carry them through a dust-up that’ll ensue if they approve a modified closed primary that forces the independent-minded to declare their party allegiances and prevents Libertarians and Democrats from voting in the Republican primaries as they can easily do now. They’re out of touch with rank-and-file Idaho residents.

In arguing against any move to limit primaries earlier this session, Ysursa countered the crazy notion offered by one Republican legislator that the move would boost voter turnout. How, wondered Ysursa, can anyone expect to improve Idaho’s dismal turnout figures when Republicans want to reduce the pool of potential voters? Some harbor the belief that Democrats helped ultraconservative state Rep. Bill Sali win the 2006 congressional primary from a field that included better candidates by crossing over to vote for him with the hope that their candidate would beat Sali in the general election. Sali, of course, won.

A closed primary system ensures that more ideologues like Sali and Loertscher will win Republican Party nominations. The one proposed in a compromise bill before the Senate this week is somewhat better. It allows independents to vote in partisan primaries. Still, it will cause problems for election workers who, Kootenai County Clerk Dan English fears, will take the brunt from the public when they try to explain any new closed-primary law at the polls.

Rather than push ahead with their modified primary proposal, Idaho Republicans should do what Loertscher did with much better legislation, the vote-by-mail proposal that has boosted voter turnout in Washington and Oregon. They should pull the measure for this year. Then, they should consult with Ysursa and county clerks before trying to block people from voting in their primaries.