OPINION: To vote in the Idaho GOP primary, become a Republican

The claim is that registered unaffiliated voters are excluded from the closed Republican primary elections and therefore “... they don’t have a voice,” according to Luke Mayville, a leader in the Idahoans for Open Primaries coalition that is trying to change Idaho’s current election laws. He goes on to say, “Those who haven’t aligned themselves with a political party understand that they are being blocked from voting in the most important elections, and it’s very clear to them that is unfair.”

Seriously, Mr. Mayville? Because you choose not to run a slate of nonpartisan candidates in the primary elections, you feel disenfranchised when it comes to selecting a candidate for the general election in November? If your unaffiliated status is so important to you, then why don’t you recruit some of your like-minded associates and run them for office? Why do you feel left out because you can’t vote in the Republican primary without affiliating yourself with that party for a short time? You’re claiming that there are 250,000 to 275,000 unaffiliated registered voters in the Gem State. That amount of voters can easily nominate and elect nonpartisan candidates to the Legislature and other local offices.

Exactly what would be unfair about that?

Instead of doing the difficult work of organizing a viable political party that represents your views in Idaho politics, you and your coalition are trying to force your way into the Republican primary elections to somehow give a “voice” to all those “disenfranchised” unaffiliated voters. That smacks of laziness and ineptitude on the coalition’s part, rather than an actual concern about selecting the best people to hold public office. Considering the fact that Democrats, both inside and outside of Idaho, are backing your play to force an open primary, political skullduggery on your part seems a more genuine objective of your campaign.

The Idaho Republican, Constitutional and Libertarian parties each have a closed primary election. That means that if you want to vote in the May 21 Republican primary, you have to be registered as a Republican or be willing to affiliate yourself with the Republicans in order to choose their candidate for the general election in November. If you are registered as a member of the Democratic, Constitution or Libertarian parties, then you cannot vote in the Republican primary. Because the Republican party is the dominant one in Idaho, Democrats think this is unfair. They and a group of so-called nonpartisan voters want to vote in the Republican primary, so are trying to change Idaho’s election laws to do just that. Along the way, they also want to introduce ranked-choice voting, which is an odorous and deceitful candidate election process that I’ll discuss in a future column.

For now we’ll discuss unaffiliated voters.

I’m a poll worker and this past Monday, I was in the Latah County Courthouse undergoing the training that is required to be certified as a poll worker in the upcoming primary election. The status of unaffiliated voters was part of the training. As it stands right now, anyone — regardless of political affiliation — can vote in the Democratic or nonpartisan primaries. They are both open primaries. If you are an unaffiliated voter and want to vote in the Republican, Constitution or Libertarian primaries, you have to be willing to affiliate with that party for as long as it takes to cast a primary ballot. An unaffiliated voter can simply request a Republican, Constitution or Libertarian primary ballot. This will automatically designate them as a member of that particular political party on the county voter rolls and they can vote for that party’s candidates in this primary election.

Only unaffiliated voters have this choice. Registered members of another party cannot switch their allegiance immediately prior to receiving a primary ballot in hopes of voting in the Republican Party primary.

For those unaffiliated voters who do not wish to remain affiliated with the Republican, Constitution or Libertarian party, immediately after casting your primary ballot you can request an Idaho Political Party Affiliation Declaration Form. Fill it out and check the box that designates you as an unaffiliated voter. That form will be processed by the county clerk in the next 24 to 48 hours, and you’ll regain your desired unaffiliated voter status.

The idea that unaffiliated voters have no path to vote in the May 21 primary that is being spread by the Idahoans for Open Primaries coalition, the columnists, editors and letter writers of this page is simply not correct. Unaffiliated voters can vote in the closed primary election but they will have to affiliate themselves for a day or so with whatever party whose primary candidates they desire to select.

It is easy to see why the Idaho Democrats want an open primary, since their party is so incompetent they can barely field enough candidates to challenge the other parties in the general election, much less field a slate of candidates that would make their own primary election meaningful. I have no sympathy for them. Their candidate development and recruitment problems are not the Republican Party’s concern.

Any change in a political party's closed primary needs to be done by that party’s membership. It should not be dictated from the outside by the Open Primaries Initiative that is being promoted by the Democratic Party and unaffiliated voters who choose to either not run a slate of their own candidates or are too inept to recruit their own slate of primary candidates.

Unaffiliated voters are welcome to vote in the May 21 Republican primary and you’re welcome to stay with the party after the votes are counted. Study our candidates, choose wisely and we’ll see you at the polls.

Final note: Election poll workers are always needed, especially in the rural areas of our region. It is a critical job that ensures the high integrity of Idaho elections. Please contact your county clerk and let them know of your interest in becoming one.

Hassoldt is a field forester who lives in Kendrick.