Our Story

RECLAIM IDAHO IS A GRASSROOTS MOVEMENT DESIGNED TO PROTECT AND IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE OF WORKING IDAHOANS. WE ORGANIZE TO PASS CITIZENS’ INITIATIVES AND ALSO TO ELECT CANDIDATES WHO BELIEVE IN STRENGTHENING PUBLIC SCHOOLS, PROTECTING PUBLIC LANDS, AND EXTENDING HEALTHCARE TO WORKING FAMILIES.

The Reclaim Idaho movement began in the summer of 2017 when we painted a 1977 Dodge camper bright green and labeled both sides with “Medicaid for Idaho.” Beginning in the Panhandle, we drove south to every corner of the state, visiting over 20 communities.

We successfully spearheaded the initiative campaign to get Medicaid Expansion on the 2018 ballot. Through those efforts we built a grassroots network with over 2,000 volunteers in over 25 Idaho counties. Ordinary Idahoans, from every part of the state, came together to accomplish what the Idaho legislature failed to do. On November 6, 2018, 61-percent of Idaho voters approved Medicaid Expansion. Proposition Two won majority support in 35 of 44 Idaho counties and 29 of 35 Idaho legislative districts. We became citizen lawmakers.

Despite that overwhelming victory, the majority of Idaho’s legislators retaliated by drafting bills that would make future initiative efforts virtually impossible.  Reclaim Idaho joined with a coalition of partners to defeat those efforts, which continued through the final days of the legislative session. Thousands of Idahoans from every county joined the fight, pressuring Governor Little to veto the bills and protect our initiative rights.

In October of 2019 we announced a new initiative to invest $170 million in K-12 education. After gathering 30,000 signatures and qualifying nearly 8 districts, our initiative drive came to a crashing halt due to COVID-19. Our number one priority is the safety and health of our volunteers so we suspended our signature drive. In June, we won a lawsuit in federal court, and the court ordered the state of Idaho to allow us to collect signatures electronically for our K-12 initiative. The governor called the decision “judicial activism” and appealed it immediately. After losing two appeal attempts, the governor kept fighting tooth-and-nail, all the way to the Supreme Court. In late July, the Supreme Court issued a stay on the district court’s ruling and effectively killed our signature drive.

Rest assured, we are not losing hope in our larger mission. For now, our job is to regroup, rebuild, and find a path forward. Whatever we do, you can be sure that we’ll be advocating for adequate funding for public schools and other issues that directly impact Idaho’s working families.

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