Several Idaho Republicans said concerns are building that the party’s planned move to a presidential nominating caucus in 2024 will reduce voter turnout, alienate voters and could divide the party.
After the Idaho Legislature seemingly unintentionally eliminated the presidential primary election during the 2023 legislative session, the Idaho Republican Party voted in June to instead hold a presidential nominating caucus on the first Saturday in March, which falls on March 4 next year.
Unlike in primary elections, where voters may choose between voting at their neighborhood polling place throughout the day, voting early or voting absentee, Republican voters would have to appear in person at a set time, in a handful of specific locations on a Saturday in early March for a caucus that may take hours to finish and may not be located anywhere near their neighborhood polling place.
There are no exceptions to the in-person rule, meaning members of the armed forces serving out of state and people serving a church mission out of state would not be able to have a vote for the Republican Party’s presidential nominee in 2024.
