A bill to change Idaho’s statute regarding the voting threshold for statewide ballot initiatives and referendums was submitted by Rep. Bruce Skaug, R-Nampa, in the House State Affairs Committee on Wednesday morning.
Currently, the Idaho Code stipulates that a measure cannot be accepted unless it receives an affirmative majority of all votes cast. This implies that if an initiative or referendum receives 50% of the vote plus one, it can pass.
By amending that wording, Skaug’s measure would raise the bar to at least 60% of votes.
Skaug informed the committee that the bill’s goal is to improve Idaho’s flawed initiative process.
Among the bill’s legislative co-sponsors are:
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Sen. Ben Adams, R-Nampa
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Sen. Doug Okuniewicz, R-Hayden
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Rep. Barbara Ehardt, R-Idaho Falls
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Rep. Douglas Pickett, R-Oakley
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Rep. Steve Tanner, R-Nampa
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Rep. Joe Palmer, R-Meridian
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Rep. Jeff Ehlers, R-Meridian
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Rep. Charlie Shepherd, R-Pollock
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Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa
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Rep. Ted Hill, R-Eagle
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Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls
According to him, the majority of the millions of dollars in out-of-state funding entering our state is intended to influence and alter the actions that the Legislature, acting as the people’s representatives, would have taken. Raising it to 60% is one method to somewhat level the playing field.
A ballot initiative is a type of direct democracy in Idaho. Independent of the Idaho Legislature, it enables citizens of Idaho to put laws on a ballot and cast their votes.
In the Idaho House and Senate, the bill currently has 11 legislative co-sponsors. The bill was approved by the committee, paving the stage for a later full public hearing.
The Idaho Supreme Court declared in 2021 that initiatives are a basic right for Idahoans, according to Rep. Todd Achilles, a Democrat from Boise, who stated that he had concerns he wants Skaug to address going ahead.
He said, “I think we need to justify that more clearly because we’re putting a 60% threshold on citizens, on Idaho citizens, when as legislators we only have a 50% threshold.”
Achilles also requested that the sponsors discuss the ramifications of this modification.
Achilles stated that we would not have approved the homes exemption, property tax relief, sales tax relief, and a few other initiatives if we had a 60% bar on previous ones. Therefore, I believe it’s critical that we consider this in its entirety.
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