The closed primary system rewards extremism. Idaho Prop. 1 would reward moderation | Opinion

Proposition 1 will reward moderation

As a lifelong registered Republican, I am in total support of Proposition 1. Proposition 1 will help bring moderation to politics in Idaho rather than the extremist politics we have been seeing. In recent years, the Idaho Legislature has battled over culture war issues brought here from out-of-state interests who want to bring their battles here to Idaho.

In the last several years, the Idaho Legislature has passed numerous pieces of legislation under the guise of election integrity when not one case of Idaho voter fraud could be found or proven. The Legislature also banned Critical Race Theory even though no one was teaching it. We need to stop the culture wars and solve real Idaho problems. Proposition 1 will do that. Proposition 1 will also give 270,000 independent Idaho citizen voters a say in Idaho politics.

Please join me along with former Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, former Idaho House Speaker Bruce Newcomb and former Attorney General and Idaho State Supreme Court Chief Justice Jim Jones in supporting Proposition 1, in addition to the over 94,000 Idahoans who signed the Open Primary petition.

Blair Moncur, Idaho Falls

Vote your conscience

How many freedoms will you give up before you stop voting for extremists? Reading what you choose, managing your own reproductive health, access to IVF and contraception, the right to vote and protest, the right to be who you truly are and love who you choose — and even more is at stake.

Prior to the election, they want to hide who they really are in order to get your vote. Watch what they do and have already done. And pay attention to our presidential candidates. One talks policy and plans for the future; the other talks nonsense and rants about the past. One defends democracy; the other makes plans to create an autocracy for himself. One has a positive outlook; the other spews darkness, hatred and anger.

Trump says we won’t need to vote again if he’s elected because he will “fix it so good you’re not going to have to vote again.” Scary stuff! If Trump is elected, he will bow to the Heritage Foundation, Vladimir Putin, Kim Jung Un and Xi Jinping. They all just see him as a useful idiot.

On Nov. 5, please vote your conscience rather than your party. Let’s make a statement.

Pat Entwistle, Boise

Why I’m supporting open primaries

On Nov. 5, I’m voting for Prop 1, the Open Primaries/Ranked Choice Voting initiative. When the primaries were closed 12 years ago, over a quarter million Independent voters were forced to affiliate with a party in order to vote. Since then, the trend is for candidates to answer to the most activated party insiders instead of listening to their constituents. When we all can participate in our elections, we have the freedom to elect leaders who represent all of us instead of championing check box items that divide us. Imagine Idaho being brought back to real Idahoan values. To champion issues we all care about. Instead of busying themselves with banning books, we could focus on real issues like forest fire management and fairness in property taxes. Please join me in voting “yes” on Prop 1.

April Frederick, Boise

Tariffs make inflation worse

Donald Trump has been lying about tariffs for ten years. He keeps saying that China will pay tariffs, but tariffs are not taxes on China, India or any other country.

Tariffs are paid when the goods land in the US tariffs are applied, not before. Those tariffs are then passed on to us as consumers. So, when Walmart buys a towel made in China for $1.50 they would pay a tariff on it to the U.S. government. Then they add that tariff, let’s say a 20% tariff, of 30 cents to the price.

Now the towel that would have cost you $3.00 will cost you $3.30. You then pay the tariff. China does not pay a cent of the tariff and has never done so.

Donald Trump is lying. Vote for America. Vote for a non-lying candidate, Kamala Harris.

Lance Mertz, Emmett

Open primaries mean more choice

I am writing in support of Proposition 1, which will be on our ballots in November, also known as the Open Primaries Initiative. Our current primary voting system requires us to vote either on a Republican or Democrat ballot only. This practice narrows our choices down to whoever is put forth by the party elites and bars independent voters from voting at all.

Open primaries will allow greater choice to all voters and will force candidates to appeal to a much wider range of political points of view. Part of the reason we have such a one sided state legislature is because of our closed primary system. If we had more balanced representation in our state legislature, which I believe an open primary system could help to bring about, we might not have some of the draconian new legislation that we currently have.

Vote “YES” on Prop1 this November.

Linda Lester, Boise