DART, League of Women voters to host ballot initiative forum

Community members are invited to a conversation about Idaho's ballot initiative process and how a proposed constitutional amendment on the ballot this November could impact the process in the future.

In Idaho, a ballot initiative is a form of direct democracy. Ballot initiatives allow Idaho residents to place proposed laws on a ballot, independent of the Idaho Legislature. 

DART and the Kootenai County League of Women Voters will host a forum next month on Idaho's ballot initiative process, including its history, its uses and its challenges. The forum is set for 5:30 p.m. Oct. 19 at the Harding Family Center in Coeur d'Alene. 

The history of Idaho's ballot initiative process stretches back to 1912, when Idaho voters adopted it as a constitutional amendment. 

Since then, Idahoans exercised their initiative rights to enact cross-partisan reforms, including the establishment of the Department of Idaho Fish and Game in 1938, bringing nonpartisan wildlife management to Idaho, and the Sunshine Law, which provides transparency in political campaign contributions and lobbying activities. 

The homeowner's exemption, which provides tax relief to property owners, was established in 1982 through a ballot initiative. 

In the Nov. 3 election, Idaho voters will have the opportunity to vote on Idaho House Joint Resolution 4, a proposed constitutional amendment that would give the Legislature the exclusive authority to legalize marijuana, narcotics or other psychoactive substances in Idaho. It would prohibit citizen-led ballot initiatives from legalizing drugs, including marijuana. 

According to DART, the proposed constitutional amendment would open the door for lawmakers to limit what topics Idahoans can vote on via ballot initiative in the future. 

Presenters will include Dr. David Adler, constitutional scholar and president of the Alturas Institute, a nonpartisan, nonprofit educational organization based in Idaho Falls, and Luke Mayville, co-founder and executive director of Reclaim Idaho, the group behind the successful 2018 Medicaid expansion initiative.