ELECTIONS – Amends and adds to existing law to provide for a presidential primary election.
House Bill 638 would create a presidential primary election in Idaho and integrate it into the state’s election code. The bill sets the presidential primary for the first Tuesday in March in each presidential election year, makes participation optional for political parties, and requires any participating party to notify the secretary of state by the last Tuesday in November before the primary. It also establishes rules for candidate filing, ballot preparation, ballot removal, voting procedures, reporting results, delegate selection, and the conduct of the presidential primary in a manner generally consistent with Idaho’s existing primary-election framework.
The bill also revises several existing election statutes to accommodate the new presidential primary. It amends the definitions and timing provisions for primary elections, adjusts party-affiliation change deadlines, updates ballot preparation rules, clarifies which electors may vote in primaries and presidential primaries, and expands postelection audit provisions to include presidential primary elections. It further shifts the cost of presidential primary administration to the state, including ballot printing and legal notices, rather than counties.
The bill would amend Title 34 of the Idaho Code in multiple places to add a new presidential primary structure and conform existing election provisions to that structure. It would create new statutory sections governing presidential primary participation, candidate qualification, ballot access, voting, results certification, delegate allocation, and election costs, while also revising the general primary-election calendar and voter eligibility rules. Counties would continue to administer much of the process, but the state would assume the direct costs of the presidential primary and the secretary of state would gain additional administrative responsibilities.
The available voting history suggests the bill had meaningful support but was not unanimous, passing House Third Reading 42-23. No committee transcript was provided, so the record does not show detailed floor or committee arguments. Based on the vote margin and the bill’s subject matter, the measure appears to have been generally supported as an election-administration update, while still drawing substantial opposition from members who may have objected to the policy change, cost, or structure of a state-run presidential primary.
The main points of contention likely center on whether Idaho should hold a presidential primary at all, whether party participation should be optional, and whether the state should bear the full cost of administering it. The bill also sets a $50,000 filing fee for presidential candidates, which could be controversial as a ballot-access barrier. Additional areas of debate may include the rules allowing unaffiliated or cross-party voters to participate if a party opts in, and the expanded role of the secretary of state in managing ballots, results, and audits.