Idaho Dispatch

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Secretary of State: Election Overhaul for Initiative Could Cost $25 to $40 Million Just for Equipment

By • July 13, 2024

The Idaho Secretary of State’s Office has released a four-page page document to the Joint Legislative Oversight Council estimating that the cost of the ballot initiative seeking to change Idaho’s general election process to a “ranked-choice voting” process could range from $25 million to $40 million.

Secretary of State Phil McGrane’s cost estimate is larger than Idahoans for Open Primaries’ initial estimate of $1.6 million.

In McGrane’s letter, confirmed as authentic by Idaho Dispatch, he states that all Idaho’s machines will have to be replaced with new machines because the current machines do not do ranked-choice voting, or what the initiative calls an “instant runoff.” The two companies listed by the SOS office that can do ranked-choice voting are Clear Ballot Group and Dominion Voting Systems.

In addition to the cost of replacing the current voting machines, McGrane says the state will need to do an education campaign for voters, similar to one done in Alaska when they moved to a similar primary/general election system. According to McGrane, Alaska spent $3.5 million on its education effort. He states in the letter that Alaska officials said they needed more than that. Idaho has a larger voting population than Alaska, and according to McGrane, Idaho would likely need more funding for an education campaign compared to Alaska.

McGrane also states in his letter that the cost of the new “top-four” primary would likely be cheaper because all voters would use one ballot instead of different ballots for different parties. However, McGrane also said an education effort might be needed to explain the new voting primary process to Idaho voters. He believes voters will easily understand the new primary process as voters who wonder why certain candidates are not on their ballot would no longer have to wonder because all candidates would be on the same ballot.

Finally, McGrane’s letter also discusses Idaho’s prohibition on election machines not being connected to the internet for security purposes. He says that is a recommended practice. However, because statewide races might need an instant runoff, ballots may have to be centralized to count the results accurately. Idahoans could wait longer than they are used to for election results because each county runs its own process. The letter states this would be different than Alaska since Alaska does not have counties like Idaho.

Niklas Kleinworth with the Idaho Freedom Foundation criticized the top four primary/ranked-choice voting process, citing McGrane’s letter, saying in part,

“In many ways, it seems there is more to the ranked choice voting — or, more properly termed, the jungle primary — initiative than meets the eye. Proponents of the initiative hide the glaring issues with such a system under a façade of ‘open primaries.’ It is telling that the costs of the proposal were grossly understated. What other unpleasant surprises does the scheme have for us? Let’s not find out.” (Citation)

Idaho Dispatch contacted Idahoans for Open Primaries for comment on McGrane’s letter but we have not yet received a response. We also checked the organization’s social media sites but did not see a response.

 

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Tags: Idaho Freedom Foundation, Idahoans for Open Primaries, Joint Legislative Oversight Council, Niklas Kleinworth, Phil McGrane, Ranked Choice Voting, RCV

13 thoughts on “Secretary of State: Election Overhaul for Initiative Could Cost $25 to $40 Million Just for Equipment”

  1. Mark me down as the hardest pass I can possibly muster for the rankest voting choice ever devised…absolute NO on ranked choice voting!!!

    1. RINO Fixer Phil needs to be watched very carefully. He was questionable when he was in charge of ADA County Elections.

  2. Absolutely a no on Rigged Choice Voting and it will never pass in the Red state of Idaho.

  3. The magnitude of the cost comparative difference made by the SOS and the ballot initiative statements should take it off the ballot. Has the legislature not made that law for placing it on the ballot? Have we not learned after the bank breaking increase to our spending on Medicaid Expansion?

  4. Dems will do anything to get their way. Cheat, steel, lie. Lots of proof they stole our election in 2020. No one will talk about it just like no one will talk about the jabs killing millions of people and injuring millions.

  5. There is something really wrong with these assertions coming out of SoS and Phil McGrane (more than usual that is). First, I fully oppose RCV as a voting method. Secondly, when McGrane claims that current machines are incapable of performing RCV, that is incorrect. Four counties, as far as I can tell, use HART voting machines. Ada County being one of them. HART machines possess a RCV feature that splices votes into fractions or percentages. Dr. Shiva Ayyadurai found this out the hard way in his primary bid for a US senate seat in Massachusetts in 2020. He discovered that votes were being spliced mathematically, where his opponent was receiving 1.3 vs hos 0.7 votes. Upon investigation, makers of these machines explain that splicing votes are used for RCV elections. Shiva’s election was a one on one (normal) election. RCV and splicing votes have no place in honest elections. We need to expose this fraud.

  6. Greg, great article. You should check out some of the Pauline Hanson, One Nation Australia, “Please Explain” videos. They just humor in a great way to show how ridiculous all this lefty stuff is.

  7. Educate all your friends and family on exactly what jungle primaries would be. Vote it Out of Idaho. Don’t depend on common sense, that left a looong time ago. Talk about it with Everyone! This is not good for Anyone except elites

  9. So, I’m new to voting in Idaho. Does this mean if you aren’t one of the two major parties you can’t currently vote in Idaho? Because that doesn’t seem fair.

  10. Solution

    If it isnt broke, dont fix it.

    Should Idaho go the ranked choice route, it will be challenged all the way to the US Supreme Court.

  11. Hmmmm… Dominion. No wonder Democrats are pushing for this. They rigged 2020 and are set to rig 2024 – all with Dominion’s help.

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