Last week, Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador filed a suit with the state Supreme Court to block a ballot initiative that would implement ranked choice voting and a top-four primary election system. But the Attorney General’s office represents both the plaintiffs and the defendants in the case, raising concerns of a potential conflict of interest.
Labrador says the signatures for the initiative were collected deceptively, and he’s suing the Secretary of State to stop it from appearing on ballots in November. The Attorney General’s office usually provides legal representation to state officials, including the Secretary of State, which in this case means the defendant is represented by the plaintiff’s office.
The Idaho Supreme Court ordered Labrador to explain how this does not present a conflict of interest. On Tuesday, Labrador responded by saying state code requires his office to represent all state officers and entities in litigation. He said exceptions to that rule only apply to the Governor, the Legislature, or the Bar’s Board of Commissioners.
In his brief, Labrador said the attorneys assigned to defend the Secretary of State would not communicate with or report back to him and electronic safeguards would be put in place to prevent both sides from accessing each other’s case files.
“By insulating deputies from his supervision and appointing them to represent the Secretary of State, the Attorney General has done all the professional rules require and all they can possibly require,” the brief reads.
Labrador also argued that if his office were to hire outside counsel to represent the Secretary of State, he would still have to monitor and supervise them.
“[T]hose outside counsel would actually be less independent than the ethically screened and isolated attorneys that have been appointed within the Attorney General’s office,” he added.
The ballot initiative in question is sponsored by Idahoans for Open Primaries and has been certified by county clerks and the Secretary of State.
The Supreme Court is expected to rule on the overall case before Sept. 7 when the ballot initiative is submitted to county clerks ahead of the November election.
