Prop. 1 failing, HJR5 passing in early voting

Proposition 1 was headed toward defeat Tuesday with two-thirds of the state's voters rejecting the measure.

Conversely, a measure to amend the state's constitution and prohibit anyone not a citizen of the United States from voting in any Idaho election was trending toward adoption as of deadline.

The results matched those in Bonner County, where residents were also favoring the constitutional amendment in early voting results while rejecting the initiative measure in early voting as of 10 p.m.

Statewide, with seven of the state's 44 counties fully reporting, 380,430, or 64.7%, voted for the constitutional amendment, while 207,987, or 35.3%, were voting against the measure.

If it passes, HJR 5 would amend the state's constitution to bar individuals who are not citizens of the United States from participating in any election held in the state.

In Prop 1, Bonner County residents were voting almost two to one against the initiative in early voting, 10,083 voters, or 67.13%, voted against Prop 1 while 4,938, or 32.87%, voted in favor of the measure.

Statewide, the measure was also losing by a two-to-one margin with 410,250 no votes, or 69.1% compared to 183,467 yes votes or 30.9%.

Supporters had contended that Prop 1 was needed to give all Idahoans a chance to vote, while critics claimed the measure is nothing more than an effort to limit the existing one-person, one-vote system.

At a recent forum on the measure, Luke Mayville of Reclaim Idaho and Christie Wood of Veterans of Idaho for Voters said Prop 1 would increase government accountability by requiring officials to be more responsive to a majority of voters instead of a limited number of the fringe of a party. Voting would be more inclusive, with independent and unaffiliated voters free to voice instead of aligning themselves with a party they do not support or believe in just to be able to vote.

Wood noted that ranked choice voice would allow for a broader range of voices to be heard, giving all parties — and all voices within a party — a chance to be heard by voters. It also would allow veterans like herself, known for being independent voters, to actually vote in elections for the country they are sworn to protect.

However, current state Sen. Scott Herndon, who lost his bid for reelection in the May primary, and Michael Angiletta, co-founder of Secure Idaho Elections, said that instead of helping, the initiative could undermine confidence in the current system, tamper with the one-person, one-vote system due to the potential complexity of ranking candidates, and lead to an oversize influence of outsider corporate influence in the state's politics.

Herndon, who also serves as the Bonner County Republican Central Committee chair, emphasized the importance of political parties in organizing and representing shared principles, suggesting that Prop 1 would weaken this structure.