INITIATIVE: Reasons to vote it down

Idaho currently prohibits (HB 0179; passed March 28, 2023) Ranked Choice Voting (RCV), but some of our more liberal friends are trying to change that fact. If you’ve been approached to sign a petition, you should know that proponents of Ranked Choice Voting (aka Open Primaries) may gloss over a few facts:

• Candidates can change their party affiliation to dupe voters, then change it back for the general election if they win the primary.

• Ballots must be tabulated by computer due to the complexity of the processing.

• Ballots cannot be counted by hand, making this process ripe for fraud.

• Computers and programs are not cheap and must be purchased and you can bet the taxpayer would be paying for it.

• Software programming for RCV includes algorithms. Election results can ultimately be decided by those that write the programs.

• Ultimately, our general election ballot could have just one party represented.

• The ballot itself would look much different than what we’re accustomed to, creating confusion and possibly resulting in low voter turnout. 

• Open primaries would replace traditional primaries, with all parties on the same ballot.

• Contrary to what you may have been told, RCV will not improve election integrity and in fact may threaten it.

• If you have signed a petition in favor of RCV and have changed your mind, you can have your name removed from the petition with a letter to your county clerk after the petition has been submitted for verification.

• RCV is the exact opposite of the butterflies and unicorns its promoters promise it to be.

It is telling that RCV is favored predominantly by Democrats.

KAREN MILACEK

Post Falls