A bill will be introduced in the Idaho State Senate on Monday, March 26, to create a system in which voters register into parties. The bill will not let members of parties vote in any primary other than that voter’s own party. However, the bill will require that parties permit independents to vote in any primary.
The part mandating that parties allow independents into their primaries won’t pass constitutional muster. Tashjian v. Connecticut Republican Party (1986) gave parties the right to invite independents, but the State cannot require it.