Otter opposes pushing primary election back to August

While the Legislature debates pushing back Idaho’s primary election from May to August, Gov. Butch Otter said today he doesn’t like the idea. “It would cause a lot of problems in Idaho, including Bone,” he said, referring to the hometown of the measure’s sponsor, Rep. Tom Loertscher. Otter said, “The August time is a couple of weeks before school starts, families are trying to get their summer vacation in. The May primary is before school lets out. … I think if we try to put that on in a time when people are otherwise attended of something else, that their primary vote won’t be as urgent to them as it is if they’re at home working on their job and have their kids in school.” He noted Idaho’s already-low primary election turnout.

Otter said he plans to inform legislative leaders tomorrow of his opposition. “I’m going to let ‘em know what my wishes are tomorrow morning in the leadership meeting. That’s one of the things I’m going to relay to them,” he said. “There’s going to have to be overwhelming reasons and merits to an August primary, which I don’t see right now.”