The four pieces of legislation are called trailer bills because they trail a bill that had already been approved. They adjust several portions of Luna’s “Students Come First” plan, which increases technology spending in classrooms while reducing money for educators’ salaries, create pay-for-performance bonuses for teachers and administrators and reduce teachers’ unions ability to negotiate contracts with school districts.

Several of the new bills include an emergency clause, making the legislation retroactively to start this January. Sen. John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene, said that would prevent a court injunction, though critics including Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, say it could thwart citizens’ rights to have a referendum on the reform plan. Goedde said there’s still the chance for a petition for a referendum.

One piece of legislation approved restores for one year the average daily attendance protection for districts with declining attendance. If attendance next year drops by more than 3 percent, districts would still get 97 percent of the past year’s funding. Under Luna’s reforms, the 99 percent protection was completely eliminated.

The trailer bills made other changes. One prevents what Goedde called a “switcheroo,” in which school boards could not be bargaining in good faith. It also increases the exemption to the “use it or lose it” requirement, which increases districts’ ability to hire fewer staff while still receiving full state funding.

LeFavour said that expansion could be bad for teachers and some students. “This is the part where class sizes get larger,” she said.

The package also allows school boards to set up their own criteria for awarding teacher bonuses and eliminates some double counting of teacher union members, which Goedde said would benefit the unions. The reform plan requires unions to prove they represent at least half of the teachers in a district.

The Senate also approved education legislation that gets rid of requirement that districts spend a certain amount on building maintenance. Similar relief was given the past two years. It also allowed districts to continue to ask voters to convert building levies to supplemental spending on other parts of education whenever the state lowers its funding for public schools.

All the trailer bills to the reform plan now head to Gov. Butch Otter for his consideration.

“This is not a closed primary bill – it provides options,” said Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg. “It’s a constitutional primary bill.” The new primary system follows a successful lawsuit by the Idaho Republican Party striking down Idaho’s existing open primary election system.

“We’ve tried to put something together here that brings us back into compliance with the Constitution,” Hill said.

Idaho has more than 750,000 voters, none of whom are currently registered by party. The legislation would allow voters to declare their party affiliation at the polls during next May’s primary or when they register to vote. Party affiliation would become public information.

Six months before a primary, state political party chairmen would notify the state if they would allow voters who are unaffiliated or members of other parties to participate in their primary. The chairmen of both the Republican and Democratic parties have indicated they would let independent voters participate in their primaries. If unaffiliated voters pick one party’s ballot in a primary, that also would become public information.

Democrats opposed the plan on a party line vote, with several senators testifying that they prefer the current open primary plan.

“Everyone is used to this primary,” said Senate Minority Leader Edgar Malepeai, D-Pocatello. “What we’re doing with this bill is we’re going to create some barriers.”

Sen. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise, said party affiliation is a personal matter, and declaring affiliation is troubling to many voters. “I believe I stand with a lot of Idahoans who feel so uncomfortable with this kind of information as public record,” she said.

Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise, questioned why the state should continue paying for primaries when they could amount to partisan activities. “The taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay for that private party function,” Werk said.

The change to party registration and closed primaries could cost $375,000 for programs including an ad campaign to educate Idahoans about the changes, new voter registration cards, and county expenses at polling places.

The state is also expected to pay $100,000 to the Idaho Republican Party for lawyers’ fees for the lawsuit striking down open primaries.

According to the Center for Voting and Democracy, 26 states have closed primaries, 15 have open primaries, with the rest of the states have a combination of the two or a different primary election system.

The legislation is one of the “going home” bills Republican leaders at the Statehouse want to pass before finishing the legislative session. It was introduced on Monday and had a full Senate hearing earlier on Wednesday. It now heads to the House for consideration.

Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, said the new voter registration and primary election system isn’t a true closed primary system, because political party leaders could allow independents to cast a vote in their primaries.

Under the new plan, voters would declare their party affiliation when they vote in the 2012 primary or when they register to vote. People who don’t pick a party could only vote in a partisan primary if the political party chair allows them. Party chairs could also let voters from other political parties vote in their primary, if they wish. Voters could change parties in subsequent primaries, though that would need to happen more than two months before a primary.

The legislation follows a federal court ruling earlier this month that struck down the state’s open primary system, in which voters don’t register by party and can pick any party’s ballot when going to the polls during the May primary.

Secretary of State Ben Ysursa, who supported the old open primary, said Idaho’s primary participation is abysmal and called the closed primaries a major change. He also said he hoped the change wouldn’t lead to a drop in voter participation.

The Idaho Republican Party brought that lawsuit against the state and supports the new legislation. Party chairman Norm Semanko said the party would welcome independents, though current state party rules say only Republicans registered with the party before the primary election date can vote in the party’s primary.

Idaho Democratic Party Chairman Larry Grant, who also supports open primaries, told lawmakers the closed primary issue is a Republican intramural fight. He also called the new primary system too complicated and said it could lead to more lawsuits.

“I simply urge you to make it as simple as possible, and make it as easy as possible for people to vote,” Grant told lawmakers.

Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, said he thinks the new primary system is simple. He also said the early deadline for switching parties allows parties to prevent “known political operatives” from crossing over to vote.

Davis also asked Grant whether the new primary system could allow Democrats to stop holding a closed caucus for its presidential primary. Grant said Democratic National Committee rules require Idaho to hold a caucus as long as the party has an open primary that allows independents to potentially get a Democratic ballot.

The legislation passed the Senate State Affairs Committee on a party-line vote, with Democrats in opposition. Senate Minority Leader Edgar Malepeai, D-Pocatello, said he’s concerned because voters’ party preference could become public knowledge, which could be problematic for voters who side with a minority party.

“This is a very very private thing amongst a lot of people,” Malepeai said. He also said the new primary system is too doggone complex. “Making this more complex and having to declare party affiliation is going to be a deterrent to voter participation.”

Davis said the full Senate is scheduled to vote on the legislation Thursday afternoon. He said the legislation isn’t being rushed, because plans for a closed primary have been discussed at the Statehouse for years.

The legislation for closed primaries follows a successful lawsuit by the Idaho Republican Party, which convinced a federal judge that Idaho’s open primaries, which let voters pick any party’s ballot, violated its constitutional right to assemble. On Monday, budget writers also agreed to repay some of the GOP’s attorney fees.

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) agreed to pay the Idaho Republican Party $100,000 to cover lawyers’ fees for the lawsuit striking down open primaries. The state owed the GOP those costs as a result of the GOP’s victory. State GOP Executive Director Jonathan Parker said the actual attorney costs were closer to $143,000, but the party and the state government agreed to the smaller payment.  The money for the GOP comes from the state general fund.

The closed primary “will also allow independent voters to join the Republican Party at anytime, providing a great opportunity for us to continue to attract and recruit like-minded folks to the cause,” party chairman Norm Semanko said on the party’s website.  He said he supports implementing the legislation before next year’s primary.

The legislation would require Semanko or other state party chairmen to notify the secretary of state six months before a primary if the party would allow unaffiliated voters or voters who identify with a different party to cast a vote in their party’s primary.

Idaho Democratic Party State Chair Larry Grant said his party supports open primaries. “The more people who vote, the better candidates you get,” Grant said. He also said that while Semanko and other Republican officials say they welcome independents, that may not hold true next year.

“This is just slight of hand and a nod to the independents,” Grant told IdahoReporter.com. “This is probably just a head fake.” Grant also said he expects Democratic lawmakers to stand up for voters and oppose the closed primaries and party registration system.

State GOP Executive Director Jonathan Parker said the party’s central committee would likely vote on how to handle independent voters. “we want those like-minded folks to join the Republican Party,” Parker said. “We just don’t want Democrats crossing over and negatively impacting our elections.”

The new plan was introduced Monday in the Senate State Affairs Committee. For next year’s primaries, it would instruct county clerks to add check off boxes to their poll book to ask all current registered voters to declare a party affiliation, which would include being unaffiliated. Party registration would also become part of new voter registration cards.

If a party allows unaffiliated Idahoans to vote in its primary, a poll worker would need to check off a box in the poll book saying which party’s ballot a voter receives. Voters’ party registration or party choice in a primary election would become public record. Idaho currently doesn’t ask or keep track of such information.

Down the road, voters could switch parties or declare themselves unaffiliated, but they’d need to inform county clerks of those changes more than two months before the primary election, on the deadline for candidates to declare for a primary race.

Party registration and the closed primary system carry a $215,000 price tag to the state for new voter registration cards and a voter information ad campaign and $160,000 cost to the counties for more poll workers and processing new voter data.

The new primary and party registration system next faces a full Senate committee. It’s part of the “going home list” that lawmakers put a high priority on during the last few days of the legislative session. The $100,000 payment to the Idaho Republican Party must be approved by the Idaho House and Senate.

Idaho has four of the 538 Electoral College votes that decide the winner of presidential elections. Under current state law, the presidential candidate that get the most votes from Idahoans gets all four Electoral College votes. Under the National Popular Vote plan, the votes from Idaho and other states in the compact would go to the candidate who wins the majority of votes in the entire country.

Supporters of the plan say it doesn’t do away with the Electoral College and would give Idaho a stronger role in national presidential campaigns. Laura Broad, a former Republican state representative from Minnesota, told the Senate State Affairs Committee Wednesday that her state and Idaho amount to flyover states during presidential campaigns, since they aren’t battleground swing states that could elect either Republican or Democratic candidates.

“We don’t elect the president of the targeted states,” Broad said. “We should be electing the president of the United States.”

Four presidents were elected without winning the popular vote, most recently President George W. Bush in 2000. Broad said it’s be difficult to replay the 2000 presidential election with the popular vote plan in play, since it would have affected campaign strategy. “Karl Rove would’ve run a different election, and I’m sure Al Gore’s folks would’ve, too,” she said.

Backers of the popular vote plan aren’t asking for a full hearing this year, so the issue is likely on hold until next year. A similar plan last year stalled in a House committee.

The legislation passed the Senate with opposition from Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill, R-Rexburg, and Senate Majority Leader Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls. Davis said he’s debated the issue with Broad several times across the country.

“I’m very worried that Idaho will become lost in the national vote,” Davis told IdahoReporter.com. He said it’d be difficult for Idahoans’ votes to matter, since some counties in other states have more people than all of Idaho. “That troubles me.”

The Electoral College system does increase Idaho’s small voice in voting for president. According to recent census information, Idahoans make up 0.5 percent of the American population, but the state’s four Electoral College votes count for 0.7 percent of the total vote.

The other states that have passed the popular vote plan, Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Washington, Maryland, and Hawaii, have all voted for Democrats in recent presidential elections. Broad said the close 2000 presidential election spurred those states to sign onto the plan, but the results of the 2008 election have spurred solidly Republican states to consider the issue.

Republicans could introduce the new party registration and closed primary format in the next week, according to Secretary of State Ben Ysursa, who was on the losing end of the court ruling. Ysursa also said he wasn’t surprised by the court decision.

The court ruling struck down Idaho’s open primary system, in which voters don’t register with a party, but can only cast primary ballots for candidates in one party. The state GOP wants to switch to a closed primary, in which voters would need to register as Republicans to vote for Republican primary candidates.

According to the Center for Voting and Democracy, 26 states have closed primaries, 15 have open primaries, with the rest of the U.S. states have a combination of the two or a different primary election system.

“The current primary system in Idaho imposes a severe burden on the Idaho Republican Party’s First Amendment rights,” U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill wrote in a decision Wednesday. “Accordingly, this Court must deem the current Idaho primary system unconstitutional.”

Winmill ruled that changing Idaho’s primary system could add costs to Idaho’s elections and prevent people from keeping their party affiliation private, but that those issues aren’t compelling enough to burden the state GOP’s rights.

Idaho Republican Party Executive Director Jonathan Parker said he’s been working on legislation for closed primaries, and wants to get legislative leaders, Ysursa and Gov. Butch Otter on board to get the plan in place. He said the goal is to approve a closed primary plan this legislative session so that it would be in place for the May 2012 primary elections.

Without a new primary plan, Parker said that the GOP precinct chairs could decide which legislative candidates would appear on the general election ballot next November, since Winmill ruled the current system is unconstitutional.

Winmill wrote that experts brought in by Ysursa, college professors Andrew Martin of Washington University in St. Louis and Kyle Saunders of Colorado State University, showed that Idaho’s open primary system leads to crossover voting, when someone who sides with one party votes in another party’s primary, which could harm the Idaho GOP.

“Especially in a one-party state like Idaho where the Republican Party primaries are in most cases the ‘only game in town,’ voters do likely cross over; they have to in order to have any meaningful influence in elections,” Martin and Saunders wrote.

The college professors also wrote that closed primaries could lead to more ideologically extreme candidates, but Winmill said that falls within the GOP’s rights. “Choosing ideologically extreme candidates is precisely what a political party is entitled to do in asserting its right of association under the First Amendment,” Winmill wrote.

Ysursa, who said he favors the current open primary system, said he has practical concerns about switching to closed primaries. “You can say that you want party registration, but there’s over 700,000 voters right now who aren’t registered,” Ysursa said.

Ysursa has won three elections as a Republican for his job as secretary of state. He said that the state party, which sued his office to change the state primary law, still supports him, and that Idaho Republicans have done well with the open primary system.

“I don’t believe the Republican Party has suffered — our election success is pretty remarkable,” Ysursa said. “We disagree on that issue, but the bottom line is to win elections.”

The full details of the closed primary plan aren’t available, but it could let parties decide whether to let independent voters cast a ballot in a primary election. A recent survey by Boise State University found that 37 percent of respondents identified themselves as independents, which was higher than self-identified Republicans or Democrats.

Idaho Democratic Party Executive Director Shelley Landry said the party’s main concern is making sure people can vote. “Whether the voter is a Democrat, Republican or Independent, we want to ensure they they get the right to participate,” Landry told IdahoReporter.com by e-mail.

College of Idaho political economy professor Jasper LiCalzi said many Idahoans consider themselves independents, even if they typically side with one party. He said those voters wouldn’t want to be shut out of primary elections. “That’s not going to be all that popular,” LiCalzi said.

LiCalzi agreed with the other college professors that closed primaries could lead to more ideologically extreme candidates. He said party registration roles, which would be public, could help candidates campaign. “It makes it easier for the politicians when it comes to elections,” he said, since candidates could target their mailing or door knocking to members of one party.

Ellsworth garnered 6,429 votes, while Engelking brought in 6,420.

Engelking told IdahoReporter.com that she will likely request a recount from the Idaho attorney general’s office next week, the delay due  in part to the Thanksgiving holiday Thursday.  The Boise Democrat said that she would have liked to have asked for the recount sooner, but personal issues prevented her from doing so.

The Idaho Board of Canvassers, which oversees certification of election results, met Nov. 17 to make official returns from polling stations across the state.  After results were certified, Engelking had 20 days in which she could legally request a recount, meaning that she has until Dec. 7 to do so.

The letter formally requesting the process could come as early Monday, though Engelking noted that her attorney will send in the request at his own discretion.

When the process of tabulating votes a second time begins, Engelking will have someone attending to watch the count and ensure fairness.  “I will have an observer there,” she said.  “My attorney will be there to represent me.”

It is unknown if Ellsworth will also send a representative to watch the recount.

Secretary of State Ben Ysursa told IdahoReporter.com that the recount would likely take about eight hours to complete.  The attorney general’s office is in charge of the entire process, though Ysursa noted that his agency will provide technical assistance throughout the course of events.

The procedure will come at no cost to either candidate because the Ellworth’s margin of victory over Engelking qualified both for a free recount.  Idaho Code Title 34-2309 says that if an election contest is decided by less than .1 percent – or 1 vote for every 1,000 cast – neither candidate needs to pay.  With more than 12,000 votes in the competition, the District 18 House race meets the threshold.

Note: The picture used for this story was clipped from Engelking’s campaign website.

Ysursa, along with Controller Donna Jones and Treasurer Ron Crane, who phoned into the meeting, quickly certified election results and released official vote totals.  In all, 459,079 voters went to the polls to cast ballots Nov. 2 or earlier through absentee voting, for a rate of 58.1 percent of eligible voters.

The certification of results is the first step in requesting a recount for Janie Ward-Engelking, a Democrat who ran for the Idaho House in District 18 and lost by nine votes.  State law prohibits candidates from requesting recounts prior to certification of totals.  Engelking now has 20 days to submit a letter to the Idaho attorney general’s office asking for a recount.

The Boise Democrat, defeated by Republican Julie Ellsworth, told IdahoReporter.com earlier this month that she will request a recount within the time span, though she is not optimistic about the chances of flipping the election results in her favor. “There’s always the chance that a ballot or two could be stuck together,” Engelking said optimistically.

Ysursa said prior to the meeting that the attorney general’s office will oversee the effort, but will receive assistance from his office.  It is likely that the count will take eight hours and it will come at no cost to Engelking because the margin separating her and Ellsworth qualifies the two for a “free” recount according to state code.

In terms of voter turnout, Madison County in eastern Idaho had the lowest percentage, with 48.1 percent of registered voters turning out.  Elmore County had the second-lowest turnout with 51.8 percent, followed by Blaine County with 53.8 percent.

On the flip side, Clark County had the highest percentage of voter turnout, with 82.1 percent turnout.  Clark was followed by Gem County, with 73.0 percent, and Butte County, with 69 percent.

The 1st Congressional District, comprised of much of the western portion of the Gem State, beat the 2nd Congressional District in turnout by a 58.7 – 57.3 percent margin, a total surprising to Ysursa. The secretary of state commented that he expected the 1st District to be much higher, given the competitive nature of the race between Democratic Congressman Walt Minnick and Republican Raul Labrador.  ”It was different, but not by much,” commented Ysursa.

New in the 2010 elections was a requirement that voters show photo identification at the polls or sign an affidavit swearing their identity prior to voting.  Ysursa described the new requirement, implemented by state lawmakers in the 2010 legislation session, as a “non-event.” His office will release statistics on use of affidavits when they become available.

Here is a video clip of the meeting in its entirety:

“Idahoans were understandably outraged by fiscal irresponsibility in Washington, which made it especially difficult to convey that this Democratic nominee was more serious about a low tax burden for Idaho families than the Republican incumbent,” Allred said in an e-mail. He added he knew the outcome had little to do with his campaign message.

Allred’s top campaign issues included getting rid of some sales tax exemptions and lowering the gas tax.

Allred lost to Gov. Butch Otter 59 percent to 33 percent. Democrats lost all statewide races, with most local race candidates faring worse than Allred. Superintendent of Public Instruction candidate Stan Olson garnered almost 40 percent of the vote in his race, while Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick got 41 percent of the vote in Idaho’s 1st Congressional District.

“The unusual and powerful nature of the external circumstances means that the outcome was not much of a reflection on us and may not be a reliable indicator of what could happen in future years,” Allred said.

Allred wouldn’t say what his future plan are, besides spending time with his family. Allred led The Common Interest, a non-partisan advocacy group focused on state policy, before entering the governor’s race as a Democrat.

Read Allred’s full letter below.

Dear Friends,

Christine and I want you to know that we have never confronted such a setback and still been in such a good mood.

There are solid reasons for our resilience. One of those is that our commitment to the message we carried wasn’t ever contingent on outcome. We know that the rancorous partisan and special interest politics of our times are inadequate to solving the problems before us. We also know that our best recourse is – as the Founding Fathers suggested – to work towards solutions so clearly wise that they attract support across the lines that usually divide us. This campaign strengthened rather than diminished that passion. Even in defeat, it’s a privilege to pursue it.

We also know that the outcome had little to do with us and our message. We knew from the beginning that it would be as difficult as ever here, in Idaho, to get people to look beyond the partisan label to see our genuine commitment to solutions
that rise above the partisan divide. What we didn’t know was that there would be an anti-Democratic wave that would reach such historic heights on Election Day. Idahoans were understandably outraged by fiscal irresponsibility in Washington, which made it especially difficult to convey that this Democratic nominee was more serious about a low tax burden for Idaho families than the Republican incumbent. The unusual and powerful nature of the external circumstances means that the outcome was not much of a reflection on us and may not be a reliable indicator of what could happen in future years.

Everywhere we had the opportunity to give voters an accurate understanding of what I really stand for, the response was overwhelmingly positive. This was true among Republicans, Democrats, and independents.

Finally, one of the most significant reasons that Christine and I have been so buoyed is the outpouring of support from all of you. This began early in the campaign and has continued even through Election Day. Thank you for your hard work and your kind words. We’ve relied on both all year and, especially, in the final weeks. The outpouring of support has been so steady-and so steadying-that we can’t hope to acknowledge each individual message, but we do want you to know that we’ve felt each deeply. We feel grateful to have been partnered with you in such a worthy cause.

Many of you have expressed interest in our plans for the future. In the very near term, we’re spending significant family time with Anna, Dan, and Cate. Longer-term plans will follow and we’ll keep you posted.

For now, we want to share with you a quote that was included in one of the many messages of encouragement we’ve received. The words are from Teddy Roosevelt and had been running through my mind even before they appeared in a kind note. I think the sentiment speaks to each of us who dared to work together in this 2010 governor’s race. Christine and I certainly know that we could never have done such a bold thing alone:

It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.

Christine and I want you to know that our great enthusiasm for the message we carried this year is undiminished. The thanks we convey to all of you, for carrying that message with us, is heartfelt.

Sincerely,

Keith and Christine Allred

Ysursa, whose office monitors elections, said that the percentage of voters in the election is roughly 60 percent, which is typical of a non-presidential election. Presidential elections draw more voters. It’s too early to get an exact percentage of registered voters who went to the polls because Idaho allows same-day voter registration.

Ysursa said he was happy with the handling of the election. The Times-News reported that Jerome County ran out of ballots and had to print more, but Ysursa said he hadn’t heard of any election issues. He also said that the new voter ID law was carried out properly, and that not a large number of voters used the affidavits available to people without ID who still want to vote.

Ysursa also said that he expects the close District 18 House race, where Republican Julie Ellsworth leads Democrat Janie Ward-Engelking by nine votes, will go to a recount. However, he said that it’s his personal opinion that the result won’t change, due to the low error rate on the optical scan ballots used.