BY KAREN BOSSICK
A free showing of the new film “Majority Rules” will be held at 12:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 16, at the Magic Lantern Cinema in Ketchum. And there’ll be free popcorn in it for all attendees.
The quick-paced, fun-to-watch film asks: What if changing the way we vote could change everything? What happens if we take power away from party insiders and give it to voters?
The 91-minute film was directed by veteran political documentary filmmaker A.J. Schnack and produced by the Wood River Valley’s own Blair Hull.
It looks at Alaska’s efforts to adopt election reforms that eliminated traditional party primaries, allowing voters to rank their candidates by preference.
The system was tested when the state’s longest serving Congressman unexpectedly died, prompting a special election that saw dozens of candidates including former Gov. Sarah Palin, vying for the seat. The surprising outcome of the special election sparked a groundswell of support for election reform in other states.
There is a big push for election reform in Idaho where the state has had a closed primary system since 2012. Idahoans for Open Primaries delivered 97,000 signatures—names from every county in Idaho--to the Idaho Secretary of State earlier this month.
Supporters formed a line as they passed boxes containing the signatures from one person to another up the stairs to the Secretary of State’s office. To add to the excitement, they chanted as they worked.
The success of the campaign means that voters will be asked in November to restore Idaho’s open primary, which would allow all voters to vote for whomever they want rather than force them to declare. Numerous Republicans have gotten behind it, including former Idaho Gov. Butch Otter, former House speaker Bruce Newcomb and former Idaho Supreme court justice Jim Jones.
To see a clip of “Majority Rules,” go to
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtw05u5lw9I&t=8s
To see a clip of signatures making their way to the Idaho Secretary of State’s office, go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQhV7_NnsyA.