Idaho Democrats will pick their presidential candidate
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IDAHO FALLS — It’s time for the Idaho 2020 presidential primary.
Voting to pick Constitution, Democratic and Republican party presidential candidates starts at 8 a.m. and runs through 8 p.m. Tuesday, March 10. Find your polling place here.
Pres. Donald Trump is guaranteed to be the Republican candidate. That means, of the two major parties, tomorrow’s election is about Idaho Democrats picking their candidate.
Leaders in the Bonneville County Democratic Party Central Committee say energy among local democrats is high this election season.
“It’s just an upward trajectory that’s been happening for the last four, three-plus years at this point. 2016 really seemed to spark something and it has not gone away,” Bonneville County Democratic Party Central Committee Chairwoman MaCay Frerichs said.
Tuesday marks the first time the Idaho Democratic Party has had a primary election instead of a caucus to pick the presidential candidate.
“After the last presidential election, we realized that the caucus system is not very accessible to everybody. So we switched to a primary system so that more people would have the chance to weigh in on their preference for the presidential candidate,” Bonneville County Democratic Party Central Committee state committeewoman Miranda Marquit said.
Idaho Democratic Party spokeswoman Lindsey Johnson said another factor was the expense and resource to took to organize a caucus.
“With the primary, you can vote absentee from the comfort of your home, you can vote early or on election day, and it’s just much more accessible,” Johnson said.
Marquit explained the party will hold a delegate selection process on April 4, to choose delegates to send to Boise for the Idaho Democratic Convention.
“Those delegates will be assigned based on the outcome of (today’s) presidential primary,” she said.
Frerichs said it’s crucial for Idahoans to get out and vote in the primary.
“Anytime there’s an opportunity for people to directly engage with the political process, it’s important,” she said.
The Idaho Democratic primary is a semi-open primary. Meaning registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters can vote in the Democratic primary.
The Republican primary is a closed primary meaning only registered Republicans can vote in the Republican primary.
“If you aren’t registered to vote, you can register at the polls. Idaho has same-day voter registration where you can register to vote either with a valid ID or if you can bring proof of your address, you can register to vote by signing a personal affidavit,” Marquit said.