Idaho
Idaho GOP says more than a dozen ‘vote no on Prop 1’ signs vandalized – East Idaho News
MERIDIAN (Idaho Capital Sun) — A new sign in opposition to the Proposition 1 ballot initiative is at the center of controversy as Nov. 5 general election draws closer.
Idaho Republican Party officials say more than a dozen of the signs have been vandalized in Meridian and Eagle. Republican officials announced Monday they put up a $5,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of anyone responsible for vandalizing the signs.
“I’m dismayed to see this happen in Idaho,” Idaho GOP Chairwoman Dorothy Moon said in a written statement. “These signs were placed by individual citizens who wanted to warn their communities about the dangers of ranked-choice voting, so to see them defaced like this is an outrage.”
In a news release issued Monday, Idaho Republican Party officials provided photos that appeared to depict two of the defaced “vote no” signs. One sign appeared to have a swastika drawn over it, while the other appeared to be altered to encourage voters to vote yes on the measure.
Efforts to reach the Idaho Republican Party and ask whether GOP officials filed a police report were unsuccessful.
“It absolutely disgusts me to see swastikas drawn on our signs,” Moon wrote in Monday’s news release. “This is an outright hate crime against every Republican in the state of Idaho.”
Use of Idaho’s state seal on campaign signs is not illegal, Secretary of State’s Office says
Meanwhile, officials with the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office say they do not believe the use of the Idaho flag and Great Seal of the State of Idaho in those “vote no” campaign signs is a violation. A spokeswoman with the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office said there is “limited statutory guidance” governing use of the seal in political campaigns.
Several Idahoans have asked the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office and Idaho Attorney General’s Office about the use of the seal in political campaigns in recent days.
“As custodians of the Great Seal of the State of Idaho, the Secretary of State’s office is frequently requested to provide guidance for proper and allowed usage,” the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office wrote in a statement to the Idaho Capital Sun on Thursday. “Our office has received a few inquiries about using the state seal on political signs. The signs in question have the State Flag, which includes the State Seal.”
“While there is very limited statutory guidance that governs the use of the Great Seal, this office offers several guidelines as custodian,” the statement continued. “The seal must be used without alteration and without the intent to misleadingly convey State of Idaho affiliation, approval, or sponsorship. Because it’s the display of the State Flag, we do not feel the signs conflict with guidance on using the State Seal.”
On Monday, former Idaho Supreme Court Justice Jim Jones wrote a letter to Attorney General Raúl Labrador’s office asking Labrador to issue a cease and desist letter regarding the signs. Jones, who is an active supporter of the Proposition 1 ballot issue, wrote that use of the State Seal in the campaign ad is offensive and runs counter to state policy saying the State Seal should not be used for personal gain.
“I’m writing to call your attention to an egregious misuse of the Great Seal of the State of Idaho by the Idaho Republican Party,” Jones wrote. “In recent days, Idaho roads have been affronted with sexually-charged public billboards saying, ‘Don’t Californicate Idaho’s Elections.’ Idaho’s Great Seal is right next to that deceptive and sexualized wording – a great insult to the Gem State and its people.”
How does Proposition 1 ballot issue work?
Ballot issues are a form of direct democracy in Idaho, where the people vote on whether or not to pass a proposed law, completely independent of the Idaho Legislature.
Proposition 1 would end closed party primary elections in Idaho and create ranked-choice voting in the general election.
Proposition 1 is up for a vote in the Nov. 5 general election in Idaho. It will take a simple majority of the vote to pass the ballot initiative.
If approved, Proposition 1 would repeal the state’s closed primary election law from 2011 and in its place create a single primary election that is open to all candidates and all voters, regardless of party affiliation. The four candidates in the primary election with the most votes would all advance to the general election, regardless of party affiliation.
For the general election, Proposition 1 would create ranked-choice voting, which is sometimes called an instant runoff system. Under ranked-choice voting, voters would vote for their favorite candidate and have the option of ranking the remaining candidates in order of preference – second choice, third and fourth. The candidate with the fewest votes would be eliminated and their votes would be transferred to any second choice candidates on those ballots. That process would continue until there are two candidates left and the candidate with the most votes is elected the winner.
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Idaho
Gov. Little signs bill ending license plate registration stickers in Idaho
Gov. Brad Little has signed House Bill 533, which would remove the need for license plate stickers on Idaho vehicles.
The legislation, introduced earlier this session by Rep. Jon Weber (R) of Boise, eliminates the requirement for registration stickers on Idaho license plates. Weber stated during the bills intorduction that officers can verify the status of license plates without the stickers, potentially saving the state around $300,000.
During the bill’s introduction, some lawmakers argued that it could increase the workload for law enforcement.
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The new law is set to take effect in July.
Idaho
Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances
For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.
The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.
“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.
The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.
Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.
Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.
Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.
“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.
Doing so is a risk, he said.
“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.
Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.
But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.
Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.
Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.
“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.
The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.
House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.
Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio
Idaho
University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders
A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.
A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.
Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”
“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.
“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”
Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.
Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.
The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.
Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.
Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”
The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.
Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.
In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.
During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.
However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.
She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.
It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.
The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.
With Post wires
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