Thursday, June 22, 2023

Taters, Posies, Faces of Change

 






I was hoeing some weeds in the garden yesterday when this tater popped out of the ground. 

Unbelievable! 

June 21 and already a tater!

So, the portrait shows the last of the asparagus and the first tater of the summer season.

I think the summer, which is full of early surprises, is going to taste really good, considering the fact that a few 'maters and taters are already to harvest.  






These are three of the four Moon sisters:  Sally, Judy and Chris.  

Last night, Judy and Chris hosted a gathering, focusing on orientation into what will happen as volunteers go out into the community seeking petition signatures in support of open primaries in Idaho. 

Nearly two dozen enthusiastic volunteers (some seasoned and many of whom were new faces for me)  showed up to listen as Reclaim Idaho's social media manager Alicia Abbott explain the basics of the Initiative and the timeline for ensuring that it appears on Idaho election ballots in 2024.

Bonner County needs to have 2,000 signatures as its share of the ultimate requirement.  

The petition drive will have its official launch locally July 15 when Reclaim Idaho co-founder/Sandpoint High grad Luke Mayville comes to speak about the Initiative. 

The goal is to reach the required amount of signatures throughout Idaho by May, 2024. 

Basically this Initiative, if passed, will allow voters to choose the top four candidates in primary races, regardless of political party. 

Voters will select candidates on an open nonpartisan ballot rather than having to vote a straight party ticket.

When votes are counted, the top four candidates advance toward the general election. 

 According to Reclaim Idaho, in the general election, voters will have the freedom to pick their top candidate and also to rank additional candidates in order of preference.

I'm excited about this possibility because, as a voter, I have always preferred to selecting person over party.

Open primaries allow voters flexibility and do not require them vote strictly along party lines.  

Simple as that, and a phenomenal opportunity for independent-minded voters. 

As Reclaim Idaho states:  This initiative will give Idahoans more freedom and better leadership. Together, we can build a statewide grassroots movement to ensure that we have an election system that works for all Idahoans and that elected officials truly represent Idaho values.

Gatherings similar to last night's will be held in people's homes.  For more information on hosting a gathering or working as a volunteer for this important cause, send me a note, and I'll get you connected with the appropriate person. 

Let's go Open Primaries! 

Happy Thursday. 





Alicia Abbott, social media manager for Reclaim Idaho. 


















1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Good luck with getting ranked choice voting in Idaho. Here in Alaska we voted it in 3 years ago??? At any rate we had our first election using RCV last year and hooray!!!! We voted a female, Alaska native, Democrat as our lone representative in the House. Mary Peltola. What a refreshing change she made right from the start of her campaign. Honest and nice. She ran against Sarah Palin and another far right wing nut, and she won by a considerable margin. But of course our “red state” legislature tried to have rank choice voting repealed this past session, and they came up against a citizenry who flooded Juneau with emails and texts and phone calls in favor of RCV. They will try again, because of course they (Republicans) cannot win against decency.
I just want to say, urge your democratic and independent candidates to wage a positive nice wholesome campaign. The hate spewed by the far right and candidates like Sarah Palin don’t stand a chance against solid middle of the road candidates, who don’t use scare tactics and decisive rhetoric.