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June 13,
2007
Idaho Statesman
June 13,
2007
Section:
2nd opinion
Page:
17
Republican
Lawmakers are stripping the rights of Idaho
voters
Readers
By
Sen. Clint
Stennett | |
| As an Idaho
voter, you need to know that there's a battle
going on right now inside the GOP that would
take away your right to privacy. It's happening
right here in Idaho, and it affects one of the
most sacred places of government -- the voting
booth -- where you make your choices behind a
curtain of secrecy.
There's a reason the secret ballot is
treated with such care and reverence when you
appear at your election poll. Our founding
fathers had the wisdom to realize that only a
secret ballot would render a true picture of
the public will. If individuals had to show
their marked ballot to the public, powerful
politicians might use retribution or
intimidation to change the outcome.
It's hard to believe, but that's
exactly the kind of thing that's happening in
Idaho today as the right wing of the Republican
Party seeks to close its primary elections by
requiring party registration.
Here's the background: Idaho currently
has open primary elections. All eligible people
can vote in any primary, no matter which party
they claim as their own. In fact, more than 30
percent of Idahoans say they are independent of
any political party, according to Boise State
University's most recent Public Policy Survey.
The new Republican proposal that's
being considered would prevent anyone who isn't
a registered member of the Republican Party
from voting in the Republican primary election.
The most glaring problem with this idea
is that it would make your party affiliation
instantly available to anyone -- your employer,
your teachers, the police -- even your church
clergy would be able to "check up" on your
voting habits.
If that's the case, how many voters
will feel forced to join a political party
purely out of peer pressure?
How many party activists will be forced
to become "independents" -- or unaffiliated --
because they believe their political choice
will not be popular with people who have
influence over them?
This is why Idahoans so fiercely value
their independence; and while other states
might allow for closed primary elections, it's
a bad idea in Idaho.
There's also the very real problem that
would occur when a minority of voters is
allowed to select representation for a majority
of voters, based solely on political
affiliation.
How could that happen? Consider this:
Say you live in a legislative district
where three Republicans are competing against
each other for the same Senate seat. One
candidate, a moderate, has held the office for
many years. She is being challenged by a
ultra-conservative Republican and a liberal
Republican. There are no other challengers in
the race.
Under this scenario -- one which is not
uncommon in Idaho -- the winner of the
Republican primary election in May will
effectively have won the general election in
November.
Yet according to the proposed change,
only registered Republicans would be allowed to
vote in the May election. Democrats,
Libertarians, Green Party, independents -- all
will be locked out. As a result, it's quite
possible that a minority of voters will be
allowed to choose the legislative Senate
representation for the entire district. That's
just wrong.
The right wing of the Republican Party
is pushing this issue forward, probably into
the courts, in an attempt to take away your
electoral privacy and perhaps render your
ballot useless (unless you pass their party
"purity" test).
At the end of the day, you have to ask
yourself one question: Just what "problem" do
you think they are they trying to fix? Yours,
or theirs?
Sen. Clint Stennett, D-Ketchum,
is the Idaho's Senate Minority
Leader. | | |
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