State Feed: Idaho

Idaho: Abuse of canine likely to influence ballot initiatives in 2012

Trevor Ford — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 18:04:52 -0500

Police in Meridian are looking for information about the possible abuse of an 8-month-old puppy found wandering on Eagle Road last week with trauma wounds to its head. Veterinarians can’t say for sure if it was animal abuse, but believe the dog was struck with something hard and more than once. With his head wrapped in a cone so it can heal, this 8 month old Australian mixed puppy named Tanner is doing better.

Read the story from KTVB 7

Idaho: Judge disagrees on appeal of measure wording

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 13:33:56 -0500

The stormwater battle rages on for the City of Clarkston and Monday ended it up in court. The Respect Clarkston Committee is a group of Clarkston citizens and business owners who are seeking to repeal a Clarkston ordinance that sets up a utility fee to pay for a stormwater program.

Read the story from KLEW 3

Idaho: Zoning "donut" issue may go to voters

Wed, 22 Dec 2010 14:22:08 -0500

A group of Whitefish city and rural residents are petitioning to put a referendum and initiative on the November 2011 ballot that they hope will bring control over the city’s two-mile planning and zoning “doughnut” area back to the local community. The group will submit their petition, referendum and initiative documents to the Flathead County Elections Office and the city and county attorneys for review before collecting signatures.

Read the story from the Whitefish Pilot

Citizens in Charge Foundation President Calls on 12 States to End Unconstitutional Election Laws

Staff — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 16:43:47 -0400

Last week Citizens in Charge Foundation - a partner organization to Citizens in Charge - sent a letter to Secretaries of State and Attorneys General in 12 states asking them to stop enforcing unconstitutional restrictions on ballot initiative rights. In light of recent legal action in which Kansas officials agreed with petition advocates that the state’s law against petition circulators from other states was unconstitutional, Foundation President Paul Jacob asked officials to “do the right thing” and stop enforcing similar

Idaho: Mail-in vote initiative campaign halted

Fri, 15 Oct 2010 12:53:11 -0400

Sponsors of an initiative to make it easier for Idahoans to vote by mail if they want to have dropped their bid to get the measure on the ballot in 2012. “We needed 51,000 signatures, and I could just tell from the way we were going that we weren’t going to meet the mark,” said Larry Grant, a former Democratic congressional candidate from Fruitland, Idaho who led the effort. “I didn’t want people working on it for another couple months knowing we weren’t going to make it.”

Idaho: Partnership tries to overturn referendum vote on annexation

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 10:59:19 -0400

The Richard A. Egbert Limited Partnership has filed a claim seeking to overturn a referendum vote by Tetonia city voters that overturned an annexation of 267 acres. Brad Egbert, who represents the partnership, applied for the annexation last year. After a recommendation of denial from the city’s planning and zoning commission and much public debate, the city council approved the annexation in December 2009.

Read the story from the Teton Valley News

Idaho: Initiatives on states' rights likely won't make ballot

Tue, 04 May 2010 11:24:15 -0400

A set of 17 voter initiatives, many aimed at strengthening Idaho’s state sovereignty, likely didn’t garner enough signatures from voters to appear on the November general election ballot. One of the backers of the slate of initiatives, called the Idaho Freedom Initiatives, said signature counts he’s received have been well below the 51,712 needed by April 30 to get on the ballot.

Read the story from the Idaho Reporter

Local-option tax on ballot for voters

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:32:06 -0400

In a bid for a single Hailey City Council seat, incumbent Martha (Beaver) Burke will square off against challenger Anthony (Tony) St. George for a four-year term. Burke, a former Hailey planning and zoning commissioner, has positioned herself in interviews and debates as a defender of the “family-friendly” character of old Hailey. She has served four terms (16 years) on the City Council.

Read the story from the Idaho Mountain Express

Absentee voting measure in Idaho is collecting signatures

Mon, 17 Aug 2009 10:20:08 -0400

A voter initiative to allow permanent mail-in absentee voting has passed final review by the Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa and Attorney General Lawrence Wasden. A group led by Larry Grant, who ran for Congress in 2006 as a Democrat, wants to allow people to register just once with their county clerk to vote absentee, rather than having to do it again and again every year. Grant, chairman of Idaho Vote by Mail, is trying to get the initiative on the ballot for 2012 and must collect 52,000 registered voters’ signatures to do it.

Common Sense: Rising Recalls

Staff — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 12:01:52 -0400

Nearly twice as many efforts to recall public officials are underway this year than last, according to Citizens in Charge Foundation President Paul Jacob. In his daily Common Sense commentary, Paul points out several of the recall efforts from around the country, many of which have been mentioned on this site.

Petition filed to let Idaho voters register for permanent absentee voting

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 11:26:56 -0400

Backers of mail-in voting in Idaho have filed an initiative petition seeking to let Idaho voters put in a permanent request for an absentee ballot, rather than having to request one each election. Former Democratic congressional candidate Larry Grant, a board member of Idaho Vote by Mail Inc., said, “There are plenty of folks who need or prefer to vote by mail, but we are not asking that Idaho go to full voting by mail. The initiative simply provides that those folks who want or need to vote by absentee ballot don’t have to ask for one every time. It’s a good middle ground.

Idaho man wants to bring the Bible to public schools by way of a ballot initiative

Tue, 09 Jun 2009 10:30:02 -0400

It’s a question Charles Seldon is asking and is hoping 51,000 other Idahoans will agree. “When we take the bible out of the foundation of our education, our Government and our way of life, our country will fail,” Seldon said. Seldon is the founder of the Idaho group, Our Godly American Heritage. He’s working to bring the Bible into Idaho public high school classrooms, by getting the issue put on a ballot initiative.

Read the story from KBCI2

Idaho school districts seeking voter approval for various levies

Fri, 15 May 2009 10:40:50 -0400

“The board felt a need to address the concerns of our patrons over the current economic conditions in the district. We will have to use money from our fund balance to balance the budget.”

Read the story from Trading Markets

Group won't appeal ruling on affirmative action law

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 11:24:12 -0500

A group opposed to Nebraska’s affirmative action law says it won’t appeal a judge’s rejection of their lawsuit challenging the validity of petition signatures

David Kramer, spokesman for Nebraskans United, says the judge’s ruling still leaves questions about whether a petition circulator has to read the entire object statement to each signer.

Ruling Recharges Idaho Wolf Foe's Ballot Drive

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 11:05:16 -0400

The leader of the Anti Wolf Coalition in Idaho says he will try again to put a wolf removal initiative on the ballot now that a federal judge has restored endangered species protection for gray wolves in the Northern Rockies. “We are very pleased this liberal judge did what he did,” Ron Gillett told the Lewiston Tribune. “Now it will be all-out war.” He said restoring federal protection to the wolves will reinvigorate his attempts to put a ballot initiative before Idaho voters.

Property-rights debate echoes across nation

Mon, 22 Oct 2007 09:18:00 -0400

When Oregon voters approved Measure 37 three years ago, they sparked similar movements in other states.