Citing coronavirus, Reclaim Idaho sues for more time to get ballot initiative signatures
An Idaho advocacy group filed a lawsuit in federal court Saturday in the hopes of extending the deadline for gathering signatures for petitions.
The organization, Reclaim Idaho, argues in the suit that Idaho Gov. Brad Little and Secretary of State Lawerence Denney violated the First Amendment rights of Idahoans because the statewide shutdown in response to the coronavirus pandemic prevented the gathering of signatures for a ballot initiative.
In a news release Monday, the group said the government’s restrictions made it “impossible to meet signature-collection requirements.”
The group is currently trying to get on the ballot a funding initiative for K-12 education. The initiative would aim to increase funding for schools by $170 million annually by restoring the state’s corporate tax rate to what it was in 2000 and increasing taxes for those who earn over $250,000 per year for an individual or $500,000 per year for a married couple.
Reclaim Idaho started the process with the goal of getting it on the ballot for November’s election. Because of the difficulty in gathering signatures during statewide stay-home orders, Reclaim Idaho decided to sue for more time and for permission to collect signatures electronically.
Reclaim Idaho, which suspended its signature drive on March 18 when Little’s first order went into effect, had a deadline of April 30 to collect the needed signatures. The group had collected over 30,000 when it stopped the signature drive.
The complaint, filed in District Court in Idaho, outlines that the group was told by the Secretary of State’s Office that it would not allow electronic signatures to be used on state ballot initiatives and that the governor’s office would not be taking any executive action to allow such signatures.
However, the lawsuit notes that Idaho law states a record cannot be denied legal effect solely because it is in an electronic form.
The group is asking for a preliminary injunction to grant it 48 days — the amount of time the group had left before suspending its signature campaign — to collect signatures, as well as to be able to collect signatures digitally.
“The right of Idaho citizens to initiate legislation is a historic and fundamental one,” attorneys for Reclaim Idaho wrote in a memorandum filed as part of the suit. “The pandemic created an unprecedented crisis, but orders and decisions made by Idaho state officials violated Reclaim Idaho’s First Amendment rights.”
The suit names Little and Denney as defendants. They and their legal counsel have not filed a response to the group’s complaint.
