EDITORIAL: Unaffiliated voters invited to GOP primary
Many of you reading this editorial have already voted in the May 21 primary. Thank you for exercising your right and meeting your responsibility as an active, engaged citizen.
Thousands more will vote on Tuesday. Polls are open between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. If you don’t know where to vote, call the Elections Office at 446-1030 or click on this link: https://www.kcgov.us/321/Polling-Place-Look-Up
The county’s excellent elections website should answer just about any question on voting you might have: https://www.kcgov.us/31/Elections
And for those of you who might have fallen a little behind in doing your candidate research, fear not. You can get a lot of valuable information in a hurry right here:
https://coeurdalenepostfallspress-id.newsmemory.com/?special=Voters+Guide
https://cda-2024-meet-the-candida-60555c19ec666.webflow.io
And now, here’s a fact those who are running and ruining the Idaho Republican Party don’t want unaffiliated voters to know: You folks can register Republican on Election Day and have your voice heard, particularly on the important precinct committee positions being challenged broadly for the first time in many years.
According to the Secretary of State's office, Kootenai County boasts 26,223 registered unaffiliated voters. That's more than twice as many registered voters as the Democrats (10,425) can claim, and 39% of the Republican Party's 67,640.
Yes, enough to significantly impact Tuesday's results.
Yet the legions of independents are left out of this election unless they show up at their polling place on Tuesday, register Republican and fill out their ballot. Voters registered with another party cannot register for the Republican primary.
Unaffiliated voters choosing to participate in the Republican primary have the option of going with the status quo for Kootenai County Republican Central Committee precinct positions or voting for change. The KCRCC website lists current precinct committeemen; status quo backers are engaged in an all-out mudslinging marketing campaign.
On the flip side, a website operated by a group of longtime local Republicans who aren’t at all satisfied with where the local party stands lists precinct candidates it supports: NorthIdahoRepublicans.org
On that site you can look up your precinct and the NIR-backed candidate running for that position. Click on your candidate’s name and you will learn a lot about that person. As just one example, click on this link and see what you'll find about Precinct 205 candidate Dave Patzer: https://electpatzer.com
This election is not exclusively about precinct committee positions. There are contested races for sheriff, county commissioners and legislative seats. Because all of these positions have been won for years by local Republicans, many people consider the primary election as important as the general election.
Your vote always matters. With lower turnout in primaries, each vote might matter just a little more.
Yes, unaffiliateds: We’re talking to you. Consider registering Republican on Tuesday to ensure you, too, are selecting your local political leaders.