Supporters of the Idaho open primary initiative submitted signatures in support of the ballot initiative to the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office on Tuesday, July 2, 2024. (Kyle Pfannenstiel/Idaho Capital Sun)
One of the most closely watched elections in Idaho in 2024 may not involve any candidates or political parties.
Instead, Idahoans across the state are following Proposition 1, the ballot initiative that seeks to repeal Idaho’s closed party primary elections. Instead of closed primaries, Proposition 1 would create nonpartisan top-four primary elections that are open to all candidates and all voters, regardless of party affiliation. Proposition 1 would also create ranked-choice voting in the general election.
“There seems to be quite a bit of attention to the initiative in either direction, among both supporters and the opposition,” said Jaclyn Kettler, a political scientist at Boise State University. “There are a lot of signs out there now, different organizations have been really active on the measure and it just seems that there is a good amount of attention and organizing around it, both for and against.”