On Tuesday, the Boise City Club hosted an event at the Idaho State Museum regarding ballot initiatives. Ballot initiatives are prompts that are put on the ballot in an election and come from people. It’s a way for people to be able to take action rather than wait for the state legislature to solve the issue themselves.
According to the Boise City Club, citizen-led initiatives have expanded healthcare coverage via Medicaid as well as created the Idaho Department of Fish and Game.
The panelists for the event included Dr. Luke Mayville, who cofounded Reclaim Idaho, Dr. Sam Martin who is a political science professor at Boise State University, and Rep. Jason Monks (R-22B) of the Idaho House of Representatives.
Ballot initiatives in Idaho start with interest groups collecting signatures from people in every state district. For example, an interest group that advocates for lower taxes can collect signatures to start an initiative.
In 2018, a ballot initiative regarding expanding Medicaid coverage. Dr. Luke Mayville spoke in detail about what’s known as the Medicaid gap. Medicaid is a government program that provides healthcare coverage to people with lower incomes. The Medicaid gap refers to people who are unable to receive healthcare coverage but are not eligible for Medicaid. That same year, the ballot initiative passed with 61% of the vote statewide in Idaho.
According to Dr. Luke Mayville, 66,000 to 100,000 Idahoans were in the Medicaid gap. Dr. Mayville then showed the same Medicaid coverage problem in Florida. Dr. Mayville said 1.4 million Floridians are in the Medicaid gap.
Regarding restrictions to the initiative process, representative Jason Monks said “politics isn’t supposed to be easy, it’s supposed to be hard.” Monks explained that this is part of the checks and balances that both the US and Idaho constitutions have. Later in the event, Monks said “just because it takes a while doesn’t mean it won’t happen.”
A lot of Monks’ positions at the event centered around checks and balances as well as the state government’s budget. Dr. Mayville said ballot initiatives are ways for non-partisan groups to come together. Dr. Martin had similar points and mentioned a separation between citizens and representatives and advocated for legislators to be more in touch with their constituents.
Dr. Mayville made an interesting point about the need for democracy. “Dangers towards democracy can come from within. People will stop voting if they feel their voice doesn’t matter.” He explains that the best way to weaken a democracy is to convince people their vote doesn’t matter.
This event was part of a series called “Forum” by the City Club of Boise. Forum hosts a discussion with panelists regarding a relevant political issue. The event is also broadcast on Boise State Public Radio. To see information regarding future events, please visit the City Club of Boise website.
