Making the Process Nearly Impossible…
SJR101, arguably the bill to have the most profound long term impacts on Idahoan’s access to the ballot, passed out of Senate State Affairs, even after overwhelming opposition, and was sent to the 14th Order for minor amendments before being voted on by the whole Senate very soon.
SJR101 Makes It Nearly Impossible for Voters to Hold Government Accountable
- SJR101 changes the already difficult requirements of gathering 6% of legal voters in 18 out of 35 legislative districts to 6% of legal voters from all 35 districts just to get an initiative or referendum on the ballot.
Sound Familiar?
- It should. The legislature tried this before. In 2021 the majority party passed this same crushingly onerous requirement into law, but the Idaho Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional, stating that it would make the process so difficult that it legislates the initiative entitlement “into non-existence.”
- The Court noted that “[i]f the legislature’s actual goal is to prevent any initiative or referendum from qualifying for the ballot, then this is probably an effective tactic.”
Groundhog Day!
- So now, with SJR 101, the Legislature is proposing to insert this exact requirement into the provision in Idaho’s constitution establishing the right of initiative and referendum. How is it reasonable—or a legitimate exercise of the Legislature’s duty to serve the people—to put language in an article of our constitution that, while not saying so expressly, effectively destroys the right supposedly guaranteed by that article?
Why Not Let the Voters Decide?
- Because the question the bill sponsors want to pose is biased and flawed and already determined to all but eliminate and destroy the process. Why pose the toughest possible threshold in the question? If you really want the people to decide if they want access to the process, then ask them that! Ask them if they are satisfied with the current process.
One Person Who Testified Had a Great Idea…
- Maybe the legislature should have to go through the same process the voters have to go through to get this question on the ballot….the voter initiative process! But that would be too hard.
- Instead, the legislature can easily pass this onto the ballot with 2/3 vote; with the supermajority ruling, this will probably pass on party lines and begin the long battle for voters to fight for access.
My Opinion…This Bill Would Silence the People
- Is the supermajority afraid of the next question that voters might get on the ballot: legalizing marijuana? affirming abortion care after the legislature passed life-threatening laws? more education funding?
- Voters already forced the hand of a legislature who would not act on Medicaid Expansion nor fully fund Education.
- The voters have a great history of addressing problems that the legislature wouldn’t and we have benefited from our work.
One District Will Have Veto Power Over the Whole State
- The Supreme Court ruling in 2021 indicated that this approach would give veto power to every district over the entire state and turns a perceived fear of ‘tyranny of the majority’ into an actual ‘tyranny of the minority.’
- The purpose of a signature gathering process (6% of legal voters in 18 out of 35 districts) is to be sure that ENOUGH voters are interested in a topic to actually GET the question ON the BALLOT, but not to eliminate the possibility entirely.
- THEN, after our already difficult threshold is achieved, ALL LEGAL VOTERS can vote. And everyone can have a say.
- If the legislature believed it was OK for one district to hold the rest of the state hostage, then the legislature would vote that way in the Senate and each Senator would have veto power over the entire body.
Why so Concerned? Education About the Question
- We all know how ballot questions are posed and they can be confusing no matter what. I got plenty of questions just about the Governor’s “Advisory Question” on the last ballot and it wasn’t even a binding legal question.
Longterm Impacts
- Regardless of the sponsor’s intent, the impact of this bill could have the most detrimental and consequential impacts on our state than any other bill in recent history.
Since 2013 there have been 20 attempts to get a question on the ballot and only 3 qualified.
The initiative gathering process is already very difficult and is working. There is no reason for the legislature to put this question to the people AGAIN. The people and the courts have spoken repeatedly. Stop trying to take away our rights to access the initiative and referendum process to hold our government accountable.