How does Idaho’s primary election fit into the presidential race

EDITOR’S NOTE: In an effort to support local journalism programs, EastIdahoNews.com will periodically be running content written by student journalist at local universities and high schools. The following article is written by Sarah Hayes, a multiplatform journalism major at Idaho State University.

POCATELLO — Donald Trump appears to be closing in on the Republican nomination after winning the largest number of delegates in recent state primary elections. But there are still lots of delegates to earn, and in Idaho they’ll be earned tomorrow.

So how do voters here in Idaho, which sends 32 delegates to the Republican National Convention, fit in with the 2016 presidential race?

To strengthen the state’s national influence and increase Republican voter turnout, Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter passed $2 million dollar legislation last April to move up the Republican primary from May to Tuesday, March 8th. The nomination process was changed from a caucus to a primary and all of Idaho taxpayers, including Democrats, will fund the Republicans-only closed primary.

“I don’t know if that will necessarily increase our visibility, but I guess it will at least make Republican voters feel better,” said Kellee Kirkpatrick, a professor of political science at Idaho State University.

According to the Republican party’s state rules, primaries that occur before March 15 must award candidates the amount of delegates proportionate to their percentage of citizen votes during what is known as the proportionality window.

“Apportioned delegates will make citizen votes count more,” Kirkpatrick said.

However, a candidate receives all of the delegates if he or she earns over 50 percent of votes. In addition, the state of Idaho has a threshold of 20 percent, which means a candidate must earn at least that percentage of votes to qualify for an apportionment of delegates. Given this system, it’s possible the winner of the Idaho Republican primary might lose a number of delegates to the runner-up since it is not all-or-nothing.

“We moved up our primary date to gain additional exposure and we switched from a caucus to make voting more accessible to Idaho Republicans,” Idaho GOP spokesman Daniel Tellez said.

This year’s Republican primary significantly differs from the caucus used in the 2012 election, which was run by the political parties, rather than the state government. A caucus goes beyond just voting for a nominee — people discuss issues within the party platform and attempt to persuade others before votes are counted.

Idaho Democrats will caucus on Tuesday, March 22nd. Since it’s open, anyone can participate, including registered Republicans.

“Primaries cost a lot more than caucuses because of the production of ballots, electronic vote counters, and hiring more staff, so that probably explains the $2 million,” Kirkpatrick said.

The earlier a state votes for a candidate, the more influence it will have nationally. The early states tend to set the momentum for candidates and by the time remaining states vote, it can be obvious who is going to win, which depresses voter turnout.

Not everyone is thrilled with the changes.

“It hardly seems fair that taxpayers are on the hook to pay for the party’s private election, especially because participation is limited to only a select group of voters,” said Sally Boynton Brown, Idaho Democratic Party Director.

“Our open caucus process is designed to get people more deeply involved in our party,” she added. “The Idaho Democratic Party works to make our democracy more accessible to every Idahoan.”