Oct. 9, 2024

Dear ELCA Lutherans in Idaho,

I am writing to you today to draw your attention to Proposition 1 on the ballot this November. It is my privilege to share that our church is on record for unrestricted participation in all matters related to the ballot box. As you bring your faith-informed thoughts into the voting booth, I ask you to consider this.  

As you may know, Idaho has, since 2011, had closed primaries. Put succinctly, Proposition 1 will create a non-partisan primary election, open to all voters. The top four will advance to the general election. In the general election, voters will pick their top candidates and also have the option to rank additional candidates in order of preference.

Why does this matter to people of faith? Lutherans care about government, including elections, because it is a gift from God intended for the safety and flourishing of human life. This Lutheran view of orderly government as “created and instituted by God” was formalized in our Lutheran Confessions back in 1530!  (Augsburg Confession, article XVI.)

The ELCA social message on Government and Civic Engagement in the United States: Disciples in Democracy(Adopted by the Church Council of the ELCA 2020) reminds us “that all of us have a responsibility to make government function well. For us Lutherans, this responsibility is a calling from God, expressed in the discipleship described in our baptismal promises. When we consider how well government is doing its work, Lutherans ask one question: is the neighbor being served?” www.elca.org/socialmessages  

That same social  message also points to 14 guides for assessing the performance of government. Proposition 1 seeks to address #2: Unrestricted participation, “Efforts to restrict access to voting should be condemned and resisted. Examples include requiring voters to show identification without issuing identification to all eligible voters, purging voter rolls of those who have not voted recently, denying access to voting by mail, or closing polling places so that voting becomes more difficult for eligible voters. Active suppression robs voters of a key means of participation.” 

Do closed primaries belong to this list of voter restrtictions? Beginning in 2011, a law went into effect in Idaho that restricts an elector to voting only in the primary election of the political party for which they are registered, unless a party notified the Secretary of State in writing that the political party elects to allow additional voters (unaffiliated voters and/or voters registered with another party) to participate in the party’s primary election. (See Idaho Code § 34-904A.) 

Is voting yes on Proposition 1 a vote for unrestricted participation by you and all the neighbors God has called us to serve? Pray on this and vote accordingly.

Bishop Meggan Manlove