Idaho Supreme Court Dismisses Open Primaries Challenge

The Idaho Supreme Court has dismissed Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s challenge to a ballot initiative that would create open primaries and implement ranked-choice voting, citing procedural grounds and directing that the matter must first be addressed in a lower court. Labrador’s challenge, filed in July, alleged that the initiative’s sponsors misled the public and gathered signatures fraudulently, and that the initiative violated the state constitution’s single-subject rule. However, the court concluded that allegations of fraudulent signatures must be adjudicated in district court and that the single-subject rule issue would not be ripe for review unless voters approve the initiative in the November election. The initiative, backed by Idahoans for Open Primaries, has gathered enough signatures to qualify for the ballot. The AG's office has not yet indicated whether it will refile the lawsuit in district court.