The Idaho Supreme Court has unanimously dismissed a lawsuit filed by Attorney General Raúl Labrador against the open primaries initiative.
Justices released the opinion Tuesday afternoon, saying the case needs to be further vetted by a lower court first.
The ruling says Labrador’s petition “fundamentally misapprehends the role of this court under the Idaho constitution.”
Labrador filed the case late last month, saying organizers with Idahoans for Open Primaries obtained tens of thousands of signatures through fraud and deception – something the campaign denies.
By using the phrase “open primaries” and downplaying that the initiative would also implement ranked choice voting, Labrador said the roughly validated 75,000 signatures should be considered null and void.
In his suit, the attorney general asked the Idaho Supreme Court to halt the initiative from appearing on the general election ballot in November.
“Unless and until there is a factual determination by a judicial officer that some or all of the verified signatures are ‘null and void’ by virtue of having been obtained by false statements and representations… the Secretary of State is duty-bound to accept the verified signatures and certify the Initiative for the ballot,” justices wrote.
The court also dismissed his second allegation that it violates the state constitution’s single subject rule, saying it can’t be considered unless it’s passed into law by voters.
Idahoans for Open Primaries spokesperson Luke Mayville called the ruling a “major victory” for voters.
“The court has shut the door on the AG’s desperate attempt to keep the Open Primaries Initiative off the ballot…” Mayville said in a statement.
“Even if the AG decides to try again in a lower court, he won’t have enough time before Election Day.”
Dan Estes, a spokesperson for the Idaho Attorney General, said, “We appreciate the Court’s reasoned analysis of the issues at hand” and the office is reviewing its options when it comes to potentially refiling the lawsuit.
Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane’s office must finalize ballots for each of Idaho’s 44 counties by next month for printing.
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