Idaho Conservative Political Signs Vandalized: Who Did It?

It's election season in Idaho. Mail-in ballots are being sent out, and candidates will once again decorate our roadways with their lovely political signs. Idaho is one of the few states in the country where the primary is the real election, not the general election. As we all witnessed, large sums of money were spent by special interest groups, politicians, and others during the primary.

We need to find the amount of dollars spent last May to come close to what will be spent on the road to election day. However, one race will consume time, effort, money, energy, and handwringing.

The campaign that has raised the interest of every Idahoan is the debate over whether to adopt rank-choice voting (Prop 1). Proponents of this new system argue that a single party currently dominates Idaho's political landscape, the Idaho Republican Party, and that rank-choice voting could bring about a more balanced representation.

The Gem State's current system is a traditional political system used by almost every state in the union. Candidates run as members of a political party, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, Constitution, or Independent, through a primary system. The primary winner will represent the party in the general election.

Under rank-choice voting, the top four candidates are selected and then compete against one another until there is a winner. In Alaska, popular former Governor Sarah Palin lost her race for Congress despite getting the most votes in the first round.

Proponents of the measure say the current Republican Party is too mean. Only Idahoans could come up with mean as a reason for wanting to destroy the GOP's dominance.

Over the weekend, vandals destroyed several GOP signs. No one has taken responsibility for these actions. The signs were intended to educate people about the dangers of voting for Prop 1.

We do not believe that means Republicans were responsible for the vandalism. We will continue to update you on this story as it develops.