Idaho Primary Of Secondary Concern

There’s nothing like Super Tuesday to make an Idahoan feel disfranchised.

While voters in seven states, including neighboring Oregon, helped Bob Dole continue his steamroller toward the Republican presidential nomination Tuesday, Idahoans could do nothing but watch.

Yet again, it seems, the process of choosing a presidential candidate will end before Idaho voters even make it to the polls.

No wonder Panhandle residents such as Richard Marquez feel left out.

“The thing that concerns me about Idaho is that we’re not heard,” he said. “Last time I voted, the votes weren’t even counted and they had already said who the president was.”

The problem is this: Idaho, already saddled with a paltry four electoral votes, has one of the nation’s latest primary elections - May 28.

And while states such as Texas and New York send more than 100 delegates to the Republican National Convention to “officially” choose a candidate, Idaho will send only 23.

That means presidential candidates don’t bother stopping here in spring. Candidates Steve Forbes and Pat Buchanan don’t even have Idaho campaign offices. Bob Dole’s office won’t be set up until next week.

“That’s just a sad fact of living in Idaho,” said Kris Rich, a deputy attorney general who will campaign for Dole. “We have the third-to-last primary and we’re one of the smallest states. It’s unfortunate, but it’s Idaho.”

Some find it more troubling than that.

“I would just as soon cancel the May presidential primary because it doesn’t mean a thing,” said Idaho Sen. Evan Frasure, R-Pocatello. “If you don’t vote early, you might as well not vote.”

It’s a pretty frustrating concept to political watchers like Kootenai County residents Mike Cheevers and Gordon Tate.

Cheevers, a barber, doesn’t understand why all states don’t have a primary on the same date.

“This is the information age, right?” he said.

Tate, meanwhile, would prefer a national primary be late - like in July - so candidates would quit “spending all those millions that we give them in matching funds.”

Idaho’s late election is a holdover from 1976, the state’s last year in the presidential limelight.

That year, Idaho, Oregon, Nevada and Washington agreed to a regional presidential primary in May and another primary for other races in August. At that time, May was not “late.” Even California wasn’t voting until June.

It was exciting, said Deputy Secretary of State Ben Ysursa. Idaho’s own Frank Church was running. Politicians paid attention to the West.

But “it was a horrible waste of time and money,” Ysursa said, so Idaho combined the May and August voting to one May election.

Within a few years, all the other states changed dates. Idaho was left alone.

This year, Frasure sponsored a bill to move Idaho’s primary to the fourth Tuesday in February. It bombed.

Legislators - who run for election every two years - would be stuck campaigning during the session. If the presidential primary was split from the other races - as it is in Washington - the additional election would cost about $700,000.

Besides, since Democrats still use party caucuses to choose their candidates, Republicans would be the only ones who gained.

Frasure plans to try again next year.

“We’ve got to find a way to have a say,” he said.

, DataTimes