Idaho Supreme Court hears arguments in dispute over name for ballot initiative

BOISE, Idaho (KIFI) - Arguments for a ballot initiative calling for open primaries in Idaho was in front of the Idaho Supreme Court on Monday.

Idahoans for Open Primaries and Reclaim Idaho say state Attorney General Raul Labrador gave a misleading name to their initiative. The "Short Title" assigned by the Attorney General's office is listed as:

MEASURE TO (1) REPLACE VOTER SELECTION OF PARTY NOMINEES WITH NONPARTY BLANKET PRIMARY; (2) REQUIRE RANKED-CHOICE VOTING FOR GENERAL ELECTIONS.

The lawsuit says the ballot measure is neither for a non-party blanket primary nor ranked choice voting for general elections.

The Idaho Attorney General's office argued that the lawsuit should be thrown out; claiming the ballot initiative titles are accurate.

The sponsors of the measure must collect 62,895 signatures (6% of the total registered voters at the time of the November 2022 General Election) in order to qualify for the November 2024 ballot.

Idaho Open Primaries says it will begin the signature collecting process as soon as the Court makes a ruling.