GOP wordsmithing no cause for alarm

By CRAIG NORTHRUP

Staff Writer

Occasionally, a few words can change the course of humanity. How different would movies look had Clark Gable told Vivien Leigh, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t care.”

How would we remember history had Neil Armstrong stepped off the lunar module and said, “That’s one small step for … something … one giant leap for … something else, I guess.”

How would we remember Seahawks coach Pete Carroll if he simply said Sunday on fourth-and-11, “We’re not punting.” (Sorry. Too soon.)

Words can hammer massive impacts into society, culture and politics, from the world stage to the local spotlight. This story — and the word it follows — probably isn’t that dire, but a single word change approved by the Idaho Republican Party drew alarm from some citizens.

The change deals specifically with the Idaho Republican Party’s state rules and its Article IX, which spells out who can actually vote during the Republican Primary. The word switch might sound like a vast Pandora’s Box of problems, but local leaders insist the change is technical, not apocalyptic.

We’ve highlighted the affected language in all caps. Article IX’s Section 4 old language states: “Only persons who have REGISTERED as Republican prior to the Primary Election will be allowed to vote on an Idaho Republican Party ballot in that Primary Election.”

The new clause states: “Only persons who have AFFILIATED as Republican prior to the Primary Election …”

Concerned voters wrote in, voicing their distress over how they perceive the word “affiliated” over “registered.” The new word’s often-used implication of casual acquaintance led some to believe that anyone who’s ever held a conservative thought for 30 seconds could now vote in the Republican Primary. It’s a troubling notion for political wonks, but ultimately, according to local party leaders, a misnomer.

“Just as in sports where one team does not pick the players on the opposing team, the Republicans don’t get to help pick who the Democrats’ nominee will be,” Kootenai County Republican Central Committee chair Brent Regan said. “The Republicans pick who will be their nominee for the General Election.”

The change in wording, Regan added, is actually an effort to bring specificity to the party rules, while hopefully correcting a long-misunderstood glitch in the American lexicon.

“‘Registered Republican’ or ‘Registered Democrat’ is not a legally correct term,” Regan said. “The correct legal description is ‘a registered voter who has affiliated with the Republican Party.’”

Regan’s explanation and the Idaho Republican Party’s decision both line up with history. While different dictionaries give slightly different definitions of the word “affiliated,” most imply an official relationship. Most specifically, the Collins English Dictionary defines “affiliated” as “Connected with or controlled by a group or organization.”

“In Idaho,” Regan further explained, “you ‘register’ as a voter if you want to vote. You can then ‘affiliate’ with one of four parties or remain an ‘unaffiliated’ voter. If you want to vote in a Primary Election to select the Republican nominee for the General Election, you must ‘affiliate’ with the Republican Party.”

He emphasized that rule does not apply to the General Election, where all registered voters can vote for any candidate they choose. Democrats have similar language in place, though the party’s rules still use the terms that only “registered” Democrats — and unaffiliated voters — can vote in the Presidential Primary, and that any registered voter can vote in the state primary.

“To be honest,” Shem Hanks, head of the Kootenai County Democrats, told The Press, “we’re pretty indifferent to changing that language. People know it as ‘registered Democrats.’ We’ll leave it as is for now.”

The Idaho Presidential Primaries for Republicans and Democrats alike are March 10, while their General State Primaries are May 19.