Prop 1: Pros and cons

COEUR d’ALENE — The pros and cons of Proposition 1 were outlined for about 150 people at the Coeur d’Alene Regional Chamber’s Upbeat Breakfast at the Hagadone Event Center on Tuesday. 

Luke Mayville, co-founder of Reclaim Idaho, and Michael Angiletta, co-founder of Secure Idaho Elections, each had 10 minutes for their presentations.

In a nutshell, Proposition 1 would replace Idaho’s closed primary election system with one open to all voters and candidates, regardless of party affiliation. The top four candidates with the most votes in the primary would advance to the general election. 

Then, ranked-choice voting would come into play. Mayville said voters would vote for their top candidate and could also rank remaining candidates in order of preference, selecting up to four. 

If one candidate gets at least 50% of the vote, they would be declared the winner. If not, Mayville said, the candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated and their votes would go to the voters' second choices. There would be more rounds until a candidate received 50% of the vote, or two candidates remain and the one with the most votes wins.

Mayville stated his case first following a coin flip. 

He said Proposition 1 was a common-sense solution to a serious problem.

"That problem is the closed primary election system," he said.

Mayville said there are about 270,000 independent voters in Idaho who are blocked from voting in the state’s most important election. 

“The only way they can vote is if they give up their independent status and join a political party,” he said. 

“It’s not just a problem because it shuts out over a quarter-million voters,” he said. “It’s also a problem because it gives us elected leaders who often don’t represent the broader communities."

Mayville said the basic principle of ranked-choice voting is about “guaranteeing the winner has broad support from the community because we want leaders who listen to all voters and who address the problems and the needs of the community.” 

He said RCV is done in 60 communities across the country, in both red and blue states. He said it can be audited, and he said courts have determined it does not violate the constitutional principle of one person, one vote. 

Mayville disputed a Secretary of State letter in July that estimated it could cost between $25 million to $40 million to pay for new machines and software to tabulate RCV ballots.

He said an analysis found the changeover could be implemented in a “fiscally conservative way” with minor software upgrades. 

He said RCV does not favor candidates of one party over another and a "blue wave" will not turn Idaho into California.

“At its core, Proposition 1 is simple," Mayville said. "It’s about restoring the right of every voter in Idaho regardless of party affiliation to participate in every Idaho election."

Angiletta said two-thirds of Idahoans trust Idaho’s election system. He said Proposition 1 will create a multitude of problems and lead to more distrust.

He said that in Alaska, an open primary had 48 candidates, and he questioned how anyone could research all of them. In another open primary, a convicted felon was on the ballot.

He showed a headline that read: "Alaska's new voting system has Sarah Palin facing Santa Claus for Congress."

Angiletta said open primaries actually lead to a decrease in voters because they will experience “choice overload” and "ballot fatigue” and many will not complete a ballot and it will be tossed out. 

He said open primaries are about money and wealthy outsiders influencing local elections.  

Angiletta said private, big-money interest groups have contributed about $500,000 in support of Idaho’s Proposition 1.

“Why are they giving so much money to Proposition 1?” he said. “Is it because they care about the people? I’ll let you answer that question.” 

Angiletta said RCV "doesn’t just cost votes, though. It costs money."

He said the Secretary of State's estimate that RCV could cost Idaho up to $40 million should not be discounted.

“I’m going to take the word of our Secretary of State,” he said. 

He said Proposition 1 could cost Kootenai County $2.2 million to $3.5 million, “cutting into essential services such as fire, ambulance and law enforcement.”

“I've been going around Idaho talking to a lot of country commissioners, and they’re losing sleep at night because they don’t know how they’re going to pay this bill,” he said.

Angiletta cited other RCV concerns, including that county clerks can no longer certify results, early returns can't be fully tallied, and audits are “prohibitively complex” and costly. 

He said Piece County in Washington state repealed RCV after finding it cost $1.7 million, was complicated and confusing, results were not available for weeks, and 66% of voters indicated they did not like it. 

"They got rid of it right away," Angiletta said. 

Proposition 1 will be on the Nov. 5 ballot. The initiative needs a simple majority to pass.