Idaho Judge Rejects Major Attorney Fee Claim in Election Reform Case, Orders Minimal Costs

Boise, Idaho – A recent legal battle over an election reform initiative in Idaho concluded with a judge denying a significant financial claim made by the group advocating for the changes. Idahoans for Open Primaries, having emerged victorious in court against a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Raúl Labrador, sought the reimbursement of nearly $65,000 in attorney fees. However, Fourth District Judge Patrick Miller decided against this motion, only requiring the state to cover a mere $96 in associated costs.

Idahoans for Open Primaries had been involved in promoting a ballot initiative aimed at instituting substantial election reforms, notably transitioning to an open primary system complemented by ranked-choice voting. Nonetheless, Labrador’s office challenged the legality of the initiative, asserting that the advocates had misrepresented the proposal to voters, thereby violating Idaho’s laws against false statements in petition drives.

Labrador argued that the representation of the initiative could mislead voters into believing it was merely reinstating a prior primary system, rather than introducing a more complex electoral mechanism involving ranked-choice voting. Despite this, Judge Miller dismissed Labrador’s lawsuit in September, citing insufficient evidence to substantiate a blatant misleading of voters.

In his December 18 ruling, Judge Miller elaborated on the rigorous standards Idaho law sets for awarding attorney fees. According to the statute, these fees can only be granted if the opposing party acted “without a reasonable basis in fact or in law.” Miller noted that the threshold to deem an action unreasonable was particularly high and did not find Labrador’s challenge to lack a reasonable basis.

The initiative, widely recognized as the open primaries initiative, proposed significant changes to Idaho’s electoral system. It aimed at dismantling closed, partisan primary elections and replacing them with a system where the top four candidates from a primary would advance to a general election. There, voters would rank the candidates in order of preference—a method known as ranked-choice or instant-runoff voting.

Despite the proposed reforms’ potential to overhaul Idaho’s electoral processes, the initiative, known as Proposition 1, was soundly defeated in the November 5 election. Over 69% of voters cast their ballots against the proposal, reflecting broad opposition among the electorate.

The public and legislative scrutiny surrounding this case underscores ongoing debates over election integrity and the legal thresholds for amending electoral systems via public initiatives. This case also highlights the complexities of modifying voting systems, which often require not just voter consent but also a comprehensive legal and public explanatory effort to avoid misinterpretation and legal challenges.

The discrepancies between the promoters’ descriptions and the legal phrasing scrutinized by the court illustrate the delicate balance between advocacy and adherence to statutory election laws.

Neither the Idaho Office of the Attorney General nor representatives for Idahoans for Open Primaries responded immediately for comment on the judge’s recent decision.

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