Pity Idaho voters
Pity Idaho voters.
In one month alone, voters in Blaine County had to rally for three
different elections in three different places in three weeks.
Why? Only the Legislature knows for sure.
Locked inside the dusty volumes of Idaho Code books are piles of election
laws. They’re scattered throughout a number of volumes, on different pages for
different matters. There are different rules for school elections, fire district
elections, recreation district elections, Supreme Court elections and general elections.
The different laws for different elections are a giant headache for
everyone involved—candidates, clerks and voters alike. Voters are expected to know,
for example, that final elections for Supreme Court justices occur at the same time and on
the same ballot as party primaries. They are expected to track down correct polling places
with barely legible maps.
They are expected to care.
Is it any wonder voter participation levels keep falling?
Voters deserve better than being wearied, confused and discouraged by the
election process. It’s time for the Legislature to overhaul those antiquated laws and
give real democracy a chance.
