Moon, speaking in Twin Falls, issues dire warning for Republicans if Prop 1 passes

TWIN FALLS — Pass Proposition 1 and expect Idaho to rapidly transform into a Democratic state, Republican Party Chair Dorothy Moon warned Thursday during a town hall meeting at the College of Southern Idaho.

Moon predicted Idaho’s political landscape would undergo a drastic change if the initiative to open primaries and implement ranked-choice voting passes, and urged supporters to stay strong through what she said will be a barrage of advertising promoting it, much of it paid for by out-of-state interests, leading up to the Nov. 5 voting.

“If Prop 1 comes into this state, it will be Democrat in two years,” she said, and called the upcoming casting of ballots including the presidential election “the most important election ever.”

So far, she said that polling is favorable that Proposition 1, which needs a simple majority to pass, will fail.

“I think we are looking OK,” she said, but admits to not trusting polls.

“We can’t let our guard down on this issue,” Moon said.

There has been advertising against Prop 1 as well, as Moon stood in front of a sign warning Idahoans to not “Californicate” Idaho elections by passing Prop 1.

“The Californians love this sign,” she said. She said Californians who have moved to Idaho agree with its premise. “They have been there. They know the living hell California has become,” she said, and said they “are going to help me save this state — they are going to help save it for you.”

Idaho is not the only western state being targeted by out-of-state interests pushing open primaries and ranked-choice voting, she said. Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, Colorado and Montana are also on the list.

People at Friday’s meeting were invited to sign up and go door-to-door to tell neighbors why they should vote no on the initiative.

Moon derided as blatant lies the allegations made by Prop 1 supporters, including a claim that 270,000 of independent Idahoans are locked out from voting in the closed Republican primary, that mandates people who vote are registered with the party.

“The few hundred thousand claim is a huge lie,” Moon said, and called many who say they can’t vote in the elections people who “won’t get off the couch and won’t take a position.”

It is reasonable, she said, for Republicans to be the ones voting on which Republicans advance to the general election.

“Do I want to have these Democrats coming over, voting on our quarterback?” Moon asked.

She said the initiative would create a “jungle primary,” similar to a 2022 election in Alaska in which 48 candidates were on the ballot. Expect a ballot like this to take up to 45 minutes to fill out, she said.

Under the Idaho proposal, candidates don’t need to list their party affiliation, and even if they do, it’s no guarantee that they will follow the party platform, District 24 Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld said.

There is no accountability with the candidates, Zuiderveld said.

Ranked-choice voting is not needed in Idaho, Moon said. It is confusing and results will be nearly impossible to audit, she said, and questioned the reliability of Dominion voting systems which will be used.

Dominion was criticized by many Republicans after the 2020 presidential election, although Fox News ended up agreeing to pay Dominion $787 million after a lawsuit was filed.

Ranked-choice voting allows voters to rank their choice of candidates on their ballots. If no candidate wins more than 50% of first-place votes in the initial voting, the one receiving the fewest votes will be dropped and votes that went to them will be redistributed to the voters’ next-highest choice.

Supporters of the initiative, as outlined by the coalition Idahoans for Open Primaries, says Proposition 1 would will give Idahoans the freedom to vote in all elections without having to align with a political party, and give power back to the people, not political elites.

The method is confusing and isn’t fair, the Magic Valley Liberty Alliance PAC, which helped organize Friday’s meeting, contends.

“Your vote could end up going to a candidate you didn’t fully support — like your vote is being handed out without your consent,” MVLA PAC literature says. They contend it could cost $40 million to implement the initiative.

While all four of Idaho’s congressional officers have spoken out against Prop 1, and a bill was signed into law by Gov. Brad Little to ban ranked-choice voting, Moon said some incumbent Republican legislators who lost races during the primary are now coming out in support of the initiative as a way to get back at the political party.

“Just like the Democrats — if you can’t win, change the rules,” she said.

Moon insisted that Republican candidates toe the line with the GOP platform.

“I believe in holding people accountable,” she said. “If you are going to say you are a Republican, you are going to act like a Republican. You are going to follow the Republican platform. You are going to honor your Idaho and U.S. constitutions. And you are going to work with the grassroots of this state.”

Eric Goodell reports for the Times-News. Reach him at Eric.goodell@magicvalley.com.

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