Judge grants hearing in ballot initiative fight

Fourth Judicial District Judge Patrick Miller granted a hearing Thursday after the Attorney General’s Office filed a motion for summary judgment in the case against Idahoans for Open Primaries.

Like in its original complaint to the Idaho Supreme Court, Attorney General Raúl Labrador is asking for an injunction that would prevent the open primaries initiative from making the November ballot.

Miller denied the AG’s request for discovery, or more evidence, from Idahoans for Open Primaries, and called the situation “extraordinarily unusual.” However, the judge agreed to hold a hearing for arguments at 10 a.m. Wednesday on the motion for summary judgement, using his discretion to expedite the hearing.

“My initial reaction is that you’ve got a real uphill battle to climb,” the judge told Solicitor General Alan Hurst.

Idaho attorney general is seeking to nullify petition signatures for Proposition 1

Generally, a summary judgement is issued in a case after all the evidence is heard and more litigation has occurred. The Idaho Supreme Court dismissed the AG’s case for procedural reasons earlier this month without hearing arguments.

The AG is asking that the court grant all the signatures gathered in support of Proposition 1 to be “null and void,” which would either trigger the Secretary of State to remove the initiative from the ballot or force initiative sponsors to withdraw it from the ballot.

The arguments focus on the “Open Primary” name of the initiative campaign, claiming it is misleading to petition signers and potential voters.

The AG’s office previously claimed the initiative “would implement a ‘top four primary’ that would abolish party-run primaries entirely. Parties would be free to endorse any candidates they wished, but they would no longer play any role in determining which candidates run in the general election.”

Deborah Ferguson, attorney for Idahoans for Open Primaries, said her clients have not had the opportunity gather discovery, and a summary judgment generally can’t be requested until 21 days after a complaint is filed. She also pointed out that while the AG’s office has four signatures from people saying they were misled, that should not invalidate the more than 74,000 signatures approved by county clerks across the state.

Ferguson plans to file a motion to dismiss the case, she told the court.

The voter initiative, appearing on the 2024 ballot as Proposition 1, would change Idaho primary elections by placing candidates from all political parties on a single open ballot. The initiative would permit all registered voters to vote for any primary candidate regardless of political party affiliation, whereas currently only registered Republicans may vote in the closed Republican primary. The top four candidates from the new primary system would advance to the general election. The initiative would also create a new instant runoff voting system in Idaho’s general elections, commonly called ranked choice voting.

Attorneys in the case were told to file their legal arguments by noon Tuesday, allowing the judge time to read them before the Wednesday hearing.

This story was originally published by Idaho Reports on Thursday, Aug. 29.