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Idaho Legislature — VOTE YES on H0501 - Signature gatherers, notice (Posted: 01/21/26)
Link: legislature.idaho.gov/s…
See bill link above for current status and committee assignment
See Idaho Insider for links where you can send group emails based on current status and committee assignment: gemstatechronicle.com/l…
Summary (ai assisted)
H0501 requires signature gatherers for ballot measures to be qualified electors and paid signature gatherers to provide the name of paying persons or entities on their badge.
Other impacts:
No discernible fiscal impact on state political subdivisions or state general fund. Enforcement costs managed within existing budgets.
No contradictions identified with US Constitution or Idaho Constitution.
Reason for Recommendation
Idaho voters have been influenced to sign petitions for ballot measures without receiving full information about them and without knowing who was behind or funding them. These measures include:
Medicaid Expansion (2018): Sponsored and organized by Luke Mayville, co-founder of Reclaim Idaho (sos.idaho.gov/elect/ini…, ballotpedia.org/Idaho_P…)
Top-Four Primary and Ranked-Choice Voting System Initiative (2024): Sponsored by Ashley Prince of Idahoans for Open Primaries. (sos.idaho.gov/elections… ).
Had they known the true origins and implications of these petitions, voters might have been less inclined to sign them and they may never have reached the ballot.
Examples: Today, Idaho’s budget is suffering greatly from passage of the oversold, under-budgeted Medicaid Expansion initiative. Fortunately, the ranked choice initiative failed after a massive grass-roots effort to educate voters about its true implications, which signature gatherers did not convey.
We agree with Rep. Bruce Skaug, who said during the bill’s introduction: "I wanna know who's paying for that if I'm gonna sign a petition."
Please vote YES.
Related
Rep. Skaug introduces signature gathering transparency legislation (01/19/26, video 01:00): youtu.be/pJQvBlXGXLc
Idaho Legislature 2026 Bills to Support or Oppose: tinyurl.com/yc2jpkeh
