Unaffiliated voters off hook for now

It looks like life has gone out of House Bill 439.

The legislation would have moved the deadline for unaffiliated voters to affiliate with a political party to the same day as the candidate filing deadline, which this year was March 11. The bill was co-sponsored by Rep. Doug Okuniewicz, R-Hayden, and Sen. Mary Souza, R-Coeur d'Alene.

Idaho law requires affiliated voters who wish to change party affiliation or to unaffiliate to do so by the candidate filing date. Those who are unaffiliated are able to declare political party affiliation up to Election Day.

"I believe it's dead," Okuniewicz said in an email to The Press on Monday afternoon. "My understanding is that the chair of Senate State Affairs will not give it a hearing."

A secretary at the State Affairs Committee office said the bill is not on the committee's agenda for today. The last action noted on the Idaho Legislature website is when the bill was referred to the committee Feb. 22.

Souza did not return a request for comment by press time.