OPEN PRIMARIES: Idaho will still be a red state

One of the major concerns of opponents to Open Primaries/ Proposition 1 is that was created to turn Idaho from a Red State to a Blue State. All you need to do to know this will not happen is take a look at the party affiliations posted on the VoteIdaho website by our Secretary of State, Phil McGrane.

According to the site, there are a little over 1 million registered voters in Idaho. Of these, nearly 700,000 are registered as Republicans (nearly 70%). Only 126,000 are registered as Democrats (12.6%) and 264,000 are registered as Unaffiliated voters. I’m not a math whiz, but even if every single Dem voted in the primary, they could not possibly swing the election to a Democratic victory.

So even if Idaho approves Proposition 1, Idaho will still be a Red State. It just means that more voters will get to decide who represents us in government. Isn’t that what a Democracy is supposed to be about? Help us give more people a voice in our great state, vote yes on Prop 1!

DANA STIEGEMEIER

Rathdrum