Weiser will host an open primaries initiative kick off today

A signature gathering drive to qualify a ballot initiative for the 2024 election will kick off Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 30, in Weiser at Marbella’s Art and Wine, 36 West Court, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

 This past May, a bipartisan collaboration joined together under the title, Idahoans for Open Primaries. The collaboration between Reclaim Idaho, the Idaho Task Force of Veterans for Political Innovation, North Idaho Women, Represent US Idaho, and the Hope Coalition filed the initiative at the Idaho State Capitol in Boise.

 After OPI overcame several legal challenges through the summer, Weiser is among 30 communities throughout the state to hold Idahoans for Open Primaries kick off events in the first two weeks of the drive. 

 To put the question on the 2024 ballot, OPI has until May 1, 2024 to gather and submit in the neighborhood of 63,000 registered voters’ signatures from across Idaho.

 According to a description of the initiative in the Idaho Capital Sun, if the initiative receives voter approval, closed party primaries will be replaced with a single primary election that would include all voters and all candidates, regardless of party affiliation. The top four vote-getters from the primary would then advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.

 Secondly, the initiative would change Idaho’s general election by implementing a ranked-choice or instant run-off system of voting.