The Switcheroo Stretch

The Canyon County GOP wants consequences

Last month, Secretary of State Phil McGrane announced that Democrat candidates Toni Ferro and Anthony Porto in district 11 would be restored to their original races, after they had each dropped out and been appointed in the other’s place. Read the story at the Gem State Chronicle.

So it’s done, right? Not so fast.

District 11 chair Greg Stuck received documentation from the Secretary of State’s office that he claims proves McGrane was more involved in the decision to allow Ferro and Porto to switch races than he said.

In response, the District 11 GOP unanimously passed a resolution censuring McGrane and calling for his resignation. The Canyon County Republican Central Committee (CCRCC), which had initially voted down a similar resolution last month, also passed this one on a 23-13 vote.

Therefore, be it resolved the Canyon County Republican Central Committee is censuring Secretary of State Phil McGrane due to his incompetence in an effort to protect election integrity in the state of Idaho and requests his immediate resignation.

The CCRCC then passed a resolution authorizing (the committee to join) a lawsuit by the (district 11) party against the Secretary of State, claiming that the law requires the office to accept the candidate withdrawals, but not their illegal appointments, and that both Ferro and Porto should be removed from the ballot entirely.

During his speech to the Canyon County GOP last month, as well as in an interview with Nate Shelman, McGrane said that if his office were to remove the candidates from the ballot he would likely face a lawsuit from the Democratic Party. It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

This author (me, Brian Almon) will be presenting a resolution to the District 14 GOP tonight in support of potential legislation to reform the candidate withdrawal process.

According to a press release from the CCRCC shared by candidate Kent Marmon, neither he nor fellow candidate Camille Blaylock were involved in the public records request or the writing of the resolutions. However, Marmon voted in favor of the resolutions in his capacity as a precinct committeeman in district 11 and Canyon County.

The Idaho Dispatch has more details on the resolutions and the public records that spurred them. Editor Greg Pruett reached out to the Secretary of State’s office for comment, and should update the story should he receive any.