OPINION: The lawmaking power of Idaho voters is under attack again
Jim Jones
Dorothy Moon, the current chair of the extremist faction of the Idaho Republican Party, proclaimed on election night that: “We’re not ever going to let Reclaim Idaho bring another initiative.” Moon was honked off that the citizen initiative group had just run a third initiative drive seeking reform of Idaho laws.
Reclaim Idaho ran its first initiative drive in 2017 to expand Medicaid coverage for low-income Idahoans, after the Legislature had refused for years to take a 90% federal match to provide for their medical care. Resistance to that initiative was fierce. Raul Labrador, then running for governor, claimed: “Nobody dies because they don’t have access to health care.” The voters disagreed and approved the initiative in 2018 with more than a 60% vote. It has been a life-saver for about 100,000 Idahoans of modest means and for counties, whose medical indigency funds were stretched to the limit.
Reclaim’s second initiative, the Quality Education Act, forced a special session of the Legislature in 2022, resulting in an increase of $410 million in K-12 educational funding. That would not have happened without Reclaim’s good work.
Become a Subscriber!
You have read all of your free articles this month. Select a plan below to start your subscription today.
Already a subscriber? Login
