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H0163.........................................................by STATE AFFAIRS
CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEETINGS - Amends existing law to authorize county central
committee meetings and legislative district central committee meetings to be
set by persons designated by political party rule; and to provide that it is
not necessary to print a primary election ballot for a political party which
does not have more than one candidate filed for nomination by that party for
any of the offices on the ballot.
02/06 House intro - 1st rdg - to printing
02/07 Rpt prt - to St Aff
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-seventh Legislature First Regular Session - 2003
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
HOUSE BILL NO. 163
BY STATE AFFAIRS COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO POLITICAL PARTIES AND ELECTIONS; AMENDING SECTION 34-502, IDAHO
3 CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE MEETING OF COUNTY PRECINCT COMMITTEEMEN AT THE
4 TIME AND DATE DESIGNATED BY THE INCUMBENT COUNTY CHAIRMAN OR SUCH PERSON
5 AS DESIGNATED BY PARTY RULE AND TO DELETE LANGUAGE REQUIRING THE COUNTY
6 CLERK TO DELIVER IN WRITING TO EACH PRECINCT COMMITTEEMAN A CERTAIN
7 NOTICE; AMENDING SECTION 34-503, IDAHO CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE MEETING
8 TIME AND PLACE OF THE LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT CENTRAL COMMITTEE TO BE DESIG-
9 NATED BY THE INCUMBENT LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT CHAIRMAN OR OTHER SUCH PERSON
10 AS DESIGNATED BY PARTY RULE; AND AMENDING SECTION 34-904, IDAHO CODE, TO
11 PROVIDE THAT IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO PRINT A PRIMARY ELECTION BALLOT FOR A
12 POLITICAL PARTY WHICH DOES NOT HAVE MORE THAN ONE CANDIDATE FILED FOR NOM-
13 INATION BY THAT PARTY FOR ANY OF THE OFFICES ON THE BALLOT.
14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
15 SECTION 1. That Section 34-502, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
16 amended to read as follows:
17 34-502. COUNTY CENTRAL COMMITTEE -- MEMBERS -- OFFICERS -- DUTIES OF
18 CHAIRMAN -- NOTICE TO CHAIRMAN. The county central committee of each political
19 party in each county shall consist of the precinct committeemen representing
20 the precincts within the county and the county chairman elected by the pre-
21 cinct committeemen. The precinct committeemen within each county shall meet at
22 the county seat within ten (10) days after the primary election and at the
23 time and date designated by the incumbent county chairman, and shall organize
24 by electing a chairman or such other person as designated by party rule, vice
25 chairman, a secretary, a state committeeman, a state committeewoman, and such
26 other officers as they may desire who shall hold office at the pleasure of the
27 county central committee or until their successors are elected.
28 Unless state party rules, adopted as provided in section 34-505, Idaho
29 Code, provide otherwise, when a vacancy exists in the office of county central
30 committee chairman, it shall be the duty of the state central committee chair-
31 man to call a meeting of the precinct committeemen of the county, and the pre-
32 cinct committeemen shall proceed to elect a chairman of the county central
33 committee for the balance of the unexpired term.
34 The county central committee shall fill by appointment all vacancies that
35 occur or exist in the office of precinct committeeman who shall be a qualified
36 elector of the precinct.
37 The county clerk shall deliver in writing to the chairman of the county
38 central committee of each political party on or before January 20 of each year
39 in which a general election is to be held, a list of the election precincts in
40 the county and the names and addresses of the precinct committeemen who were
41 elected at the last primary election, or who have since been appointed as pre-
42 cinct committeemen, as such election or appointment is shown on the records of
43 the county clerk. If the county clerk has no record of precinct committeemen,
2
1 he shall in writing, so inform the chairman of the county central committee.
2 The chairman of the county central committee shall on or before February 1
3 of each year in which a general election is to be held, and at such other
4 times as changes occur, certify to the county clerk the names and addresses of
5 the precinct committeemen of his political party. Immediately upon receipt of
6 certification, the county clerk shall deliver in writing to each precinct com-
7 mitteeman a notice of the provisions of subsection (1) of section 34-406,
8 Idaho Code.
9 SECTION 2. That Section 34-503, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
10 amended to read as follows:
11 34-503. LEGISLATIVE DISTRICT CENTRAL COMMITTEE -- MEMBERSHIP -- OFFICERS.
12 The legislative district central committee of each political party in each
13 legislative district shall consist of the precinct committeemen representing
14 the precincts within the legislative district, and the legislative district
15 chairman elected by the precinct committeemen. The precinct committeemen
16 within each legislative district shall meet within the legislative district
17 within eleven (11) days after the primary election, the meeting time and place
18 to be designated by the incumbent legislative district chairman or other such
19 person designated by party rule. At this meeting the precinct committeemen
20 shall organize by electing a chairman, vice chairman, a secretary and such
21 other officers as they may desire, who shall hold office at the pleasure of
22 the legislative district central committee or until their successors are
23 elected.
24 Unless state party rules, adopted as provided in section 34-506, Idaho
25 Code, provide otherwise, when a vacancy exists in the office of legislative
26 district central committee chairman, it shall be the duty of the state central
27 committee chairman to call a meeting of the precinct committeemen of the leg-
28 islative district, and the precinct committeemen shall proceed to elect a
29 chairman of the legislative district central committee for the balance of the
30 unexpired term.
31 SECTION 3. That Section 34-904, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
32 amended to read as follows:
33 34-904. PRIMARY ELECTION BALLOTS. There shall be a single primary elec-
34 tion ballot on which the complete ticket of each political party shall be
35 printed; however, a county may use a separate ballot for the office of pre-
36 cinct committeeman. Each political ticket shall be separated from the others
37 by a perforated line that will enable the elector to detach the ticket of the
38 political party voted from those remaining. All candidates who have filed
39 their declarations of candidacy and are subsequently certified shall be listed
40 under the proper office titles on their political party ticket. The secretary
41 of state shall design the primary election ballot to allow for write-in candi-
42 dates under each office title.
43 The office titles shall be listed in order beginning with the highest fed-
44 eral office and ending with precinct offices. The secretary of state has the
45 discretion and authority to arrange the classifications of offices as provided
46 by law.
47 It is not necessary to print a primary ballot for a political party which
48 does not have candidates for more than half of the federal or statewide offi-
49 ces on the ballot if no more than one (1) candidate files filed for nomination
50 by that party for any of the offices on the ballot. The secretary of state
51 shall certify that no primary election is necessary for that party if such is
3
1 the case and shall certify to the county clerk the names of candidates for
2 that party for the general election ballot only.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS 12778
The purpose of this legislation is to allow for the
organizational meeting of a new political party following the
primary election when no county party chairman exists. It also
removes the need for a primary election for a new political party
that has no contested races saving ballot printing costs for the
counties.
FISCAL IMPACT
The fiscal impact to the general fund of the State of Idaho is
negligible, however it would have generated a savings of eighty
thousand ($80,000) to Idaho's counties 2002 ballot printing costs
Contact
Name: Tim Hurst, Secretary of State
Phone: 208/334-2852
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE/FISCAL NOTE H 16