BSU political science students discuss proposal one, constitutional ballot measure

BOISE, ID (CBS2) — Voter turnout in Ada County is expected to be between 80 and 90 percent of registered voters, according to Ada County Clerk Trent Tripple.

Part of this high expected turnout is the impact of youth voting, defined as the 18- to 29-year-old age group, who often vote for the first time in 2024.

Speaking with two political science students at Boise State University, both made it clear that while they wanted less partisanship and a return to discourse, both felt there were strong political divisions among their fellow students, particularly local ones Topics.

“I think it would change our elections a lot,” said Ethan LaHague, a political scientist at Boise State University. “Open primaries to advocate for, but ranked-choice voting is, in my opinion, a major change and their interests are not being sold.”

LaHague said Boise State University students were fortunate to be able to participate deeply in the discussion around Proposition One; the university held a debate on the issue just last week.

“A lot of my classmates support Prop One,” said Donia Tolentino, a BSU political science student. “We know a little more about what the issues mean and exactly how they would impact our system, but I understand why there is hesitation. It’s a really big change.”

Another issue drew disagreement among her colleagues: Idaho's proposed constitutional amendment that would add language that supporters say would “explicitly prohibit non-citizens from voting.”

“We have to be really careful when we think about language and changes like this,” LaHague said. “Based on what the feeling is, I think it’s more important. The value of having confidence in our elections and dispelling the doubts we have seen; I would say that’s more important.”

But opposing students say both the Idaho and United States Constitutions already make it illegal for non-citizens to vote in state and federal elections, so they are interpreting the ballot measure as a message.

“I think I understand why they want to word it differently,” Tolentino said. “Both my parents are immigrants and I work a lot with the immigrant community. I think the rephrasing is, I don't want to say hurtful, but it gives the impression that they don't want us to vote at all, even though we can't yet.

The overall impact of the youth vote in 2024 remains to be seen, but in 2020, 55% of registered voters ages 18 to 29 voted, exceeding totals not seen since 1972.