Idahoans for Open Primaries hosting day of action in Bonneville County Saturday
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The following is a news release from Idahoans for Open Primaries.
IDAHO FALLS — Idahoans for Open Primaries volunteers in Bonneville County have collected more than 75 percent of the signatures needed to qualify their ballot initiative in Idaho legislative district 33, with district 32 following closely behind. The group is hosting a gathering where community members can come learn about the initiative, sign the petition or go out into the community to collect signatures.
Featured guest speakers at the event are Ammon Mayor Sean Coletti and Luke Mayville, executive director of Idahoans for Open Primaries.
Idahoans for Open Primaries is a grassroots coalition working to end Idaho’s closed primary system and create a non-partisan primary election. Currently the initiative has more than 56,000 petition signatures, has qualified eight districts, and has public endorsements from a broad coalition of individuals and organizations, including more than 120 Republican community leaders.
With the current closed primary system that was introduced in 2011, independent voters are blocked from participating in the most important elections. Volunteers from Idahoans for Open Primaries will be available to dive into all components of the initiative, share where they are in the process of getting the initiative on the ballot and answer any questions community members have.
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“Standards are rigorous to get a citizen-led initiative on Idaho ballots,” said Mayville. “Not only do we need to collect signatures from six percent of Idaho voters, we also must qualify within 18 of Idaho’s 35 legislative districts. It’s a difficult step that helps show broad community support before an initiative ever appears on a ballot. With this Idaho Falls day of action, we are confident that our Bonneville County volunteer team will make District 33 the next district to qualify.”
The event is free and open to the public. Optional registration and additional information are
available online.
The event will be held on Saturday from 12 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at Papa Tom’s Pizza, 1830 South Woodruff Avenue, in Idaho Falls. Restaurant management is not involved in the event.