After Proposition 1 supporters secured the initiative's place on the ballot earlier this year, the game changed. In that moment, their job was to sell hundreds of thousands of voters on a wholesale overhaul of Idaho's time-tested election process.

They largely failed to do so, even after raising millions of dollars to persuade Idaho voters.

Proposition 1, in case you've been living under a rock for the last year or so, would completely rewrite Idaho's election process. It would end the GOP's closed primary system and send all party candidates into a single election. Only the top four voters would advance to the general election.

In some counties in ruby ​​red Idaho, only four Republicans would get the green light to advance. In other counties, most notably in Boise, voters saw just four Democrats vying for a single seat in the general election.

While this restriction on voter choice isn't great, the dishonesty this reform would encourage is far worse. The initiative would allow candidates to identify with any party they want, even if they don't actually belong to that party. In theory, Boise Mayor Lauren McLean, a socialist, could identify as a Republican to deceive voters and win a seat in the House. Of course, Republicans looking to win in Boise's blue districts could do the same thing to deceive voters. At a time when voters have very little trust in their government, this move seems obvious unwise.

The worst aspect of Proposition 1, however, is the least discussed, at least by its proponents.

A recent article from Keep Idaho Free reveals the dirty little secret that Prop 1 supporters don't want you to know: ranked choice voting (RCV). Have Idaho Free mail or otherwise distribute verified campaign ads by Idahoans for Open Primaries and other affiliated groups. The audit found that not a single ad from advocates mentioned ranked choice voting.

Why is that?

Perhaps because it is a completely unpopular idea that will cost tens of millions of dollars to implement. Maybe because it's incredibly confusing and almost impossible to check. Perhaps because a spreadsheet error in Oakland – a city that uses RCV – left the wrong person in office for several months. Or maybe because RCV flipped Alaska's congressional seat from red to blue in a single election.

Proposal 1 is not really about fairness or transparency in elections. It's not about the veterans who supposedly can't vote in primaries. It's not about improving something.

No, if you read between the lines, you'll see that Proposition 1 is really about stopping conservative progress in the Statehouse. Conservatism is on the rise, and the out-of-state liberals who are pumping millions into our state are hoping they can turn the tide.

Some liberal figures, including Marty Trillhaase of the Lewiston Tribune, have exposed this reality.

“It is not Proposition 1 – the Open Primaries Initiative – that will be decided in Idaho’s Nov. 5 election,” Trillhaase wrote in a recent column.

“Instead, it is Idaho GOP Chairwoman Dorothy Moon and the ragtag group of extremists who make up her wing of the Republican Party who must face the voters’ judgment.”

He added some more clarity at the end of his column.

“Californians are already here and are moving the state further to the right. Aside from some legislative districts and local elections, the question is not whether Idaho will remain Republican, but what kind of Republicans — those who build bridges or those who live only to burn the house down.”

Drama aside, Trillhaase is partly right. The proposal is about one thing: power and who has it.

For people like the Lewiston Tribune writer, ousted Sen. Linda Hartgen and former Gov. Butch Otter, this initiative is a last-ditch effort to save the Republican Party from principled conservatives. These people understand that they can no longer win fair elections, so they want to rig the game to give left-leaning independents and Democrats a voice in the Republican Party primaries.

And for what? If, as Trillhaase suggests, the current GOP leadership wanted to burn the house down, then perhaps there is a case for election fraud to produce different results. But that's not the case as Idaho continues to trend right.

Keep in mind that Prop 1 created unprecedented unity within the Republican Party. Remember, U.S. Senators Mike Crapo and Jim Risch, Congressmen Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher, Governor Brad Little and Attorney General Raul Labrador all oppose the initiative. When was the last time this group of political figures agreed on anything?

They agree because the system is not broken. It simply doesn't produce the results that left-leaning pundits and activists want. Republican primary voters are simply demanding more accountability and principledness from their elected officials. And if they don't get it, they throw the unprincipled person out of office.

Take Hartgen for example. She lost her GOP primary this year because she voted for uncontrolled government spending. She also voted to allow teenagers to operate on and treat transgender people, a crazy position that is unwelcome in the Republican Party.

When voters judged her tenure, they found it flawed. They handed political newcomer Josh Kohl a 27-point victory over the out-of-touch incumbent.

For Trillhaase and others who favor big government, the system is broken. But the Hartgen example shows that it is not broken, but works exactly as intended. If a representative does not represent the will of her district, the voters there have the right to end her career.

For Idaho voters, the time to vote is almost here. Will they opt for more chaos, dishonesty and unverifiable election results to stop the march toward conservative, limited government? Or will they maintain Idaho's proven electoral system and reject the lies, deception and outright propaganda designed to give the left a larger voice than necessary in Idaho politics?

We'll find out on Tuesday evening.