Ranked choice voting is effort to destroy primaries

I was horrified to read the letter from Steve Johnson (Daily Bee, Aug. 27, 2023).

Steve Johnson is a failed woke, left candidate for Idaho Senate. He was a write-in candidate sponsored by the left who tried to defeat Scott Herndon in the election last November. He failed miserably, running on a platform of lies and innuendo.

Johnson claims there has been "chaos, conflict, deceit and disrespect throughout District 1. I live in District 1, and this is a lie. I see no chaos as I go about my daily life, no Antifa burning down Sandpoint, no conflict caused by Scott Herndon or any other conservative in Bonner County. No deceit or disrespect, other than Steve Johnson's own lies. 

We live in a constitutional republic, Steve. Not a democracy as you so love to claim. And guess what? A constitutional republic that protects us, and yes, even you, from the tyranny of the majority. Anything going on in Bonner and Boundary counties cannot be laid at Scott's door. People are exercising their right to petition their government.

Because you don't like what conservatives are saying, you are going to "cleverly" seize the opportunity to attack our "closed primary election" that you blame for your defeat. Your defeat was the voter's voices. You have to accept that. The voters in Bonner County, in District 1 did not want you to represent them. Accept that and move on.

Ranked choice voting is the most disingenuous left-wing attempt to destroy our primaries I have ever seen. It involves moving around votes if this or that candidate has more or less votes that put them in ranked positions. You don't know how or if your vote will count with this type of primary. It is a desperate attempt to overturn the primary system that guarantees each vote counts. What we have now is a system that doesn't allow Steve Johnson to claim he is a conservative and sneak in as a false flag candidate and only reveal his liberal agenda once he is in the Senate. Kind of like Mark Sauter.

Do not be fooled by lies from the left. Ranked choice voting is the go-to for the left because it can destroy conservative votes in Idaho.

CATHERINE FAHRIG

Sandpoint