SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 19, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — The Utah Legislature has called a special session for Wednesday to address voter-led initiatives in the wake of a Utah Supreme Court ruling last month.
The Legislature touts the proposed constitutional amendment as a way to “restore and strengthen the initiative process,” while those who filed a lawsuit accusing state lawmakers of extreme gerrymandering in the 2020 congressional redistricting process say it’s another example of power-hungry politicians working to take away voters’ rights.
If approved by the Legislature during the special session, a constitutional amendment will be placed on the ballot in November calling for the following changes:
- Restoring the ability for the Legislature and voters to amend or repeal legislation.
Prohibiting foreign entities from contributing to ballot initiatives or referenda. - Extending the time for collection of voter signatures for initiatives from 40 to 60 days.
“The Utah Supreme Court’s new interpretation created uncertainty and ambiguity,” Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz said in a joint statement on the special session. “This amendment provides a path for Utahns to weigh in and make their voices heard.
“To be clear, the proposed amendment restores the over 100-year-old effect of citizen initiatives. The initiative process will remain unchanged, and Utahns will continue to have the ability to propose and run ballot initiatives. Additionally, it prohibits foreign entities from contributing to ballot propositions, adding safeguards against undue influence,” the Republican leaders said.
The League of Women Voters of Utah, one of the groups that filed a lawsuit over the Legislature’s congressional redistricting, is calling the special session “another effort [for state lawmakers] to maintain their hold on power.”
“We do not know if they will support a constitutional amendment or simply make the initiative process more difficult,” LWV Utah President Katharine Biele said in an online letter encouraging voters to contact their legislators.
“You know your legislators. You have their ear. They need to hear from you, their constituents, about this unwise move,” Biele writes.
“Tell them the ability for citizens to reform our government isn’t just a privilege — it’s one of the most fundamental rights granted to us by our state constitution,” she continues.
LWV Utah, Mormon Women for Ethical Government and individual voters filed a lawsuit in March 2022 to block Utah from implementing a congressional redistricting map approved by the Legislature in 2020 and reinstate the bipartisan citizen initiative — Proposition 4 or Better Boundaries — passed by voters in 2018.
In its July 11 ruling, the Utah Supreme Court upheld voters’ constitutional right to reform their government through the initiative process.
“We hold that the people’s right to alter or reform the government through an initiative is constitutionally protected from government infringement, including legislative amendment, repeal, or replacement of the initiative in a manner that impairs the reform enacted by the people. Thus, an alleged violation of the people’s exercise of these rights presents a legally cognizable claim on which relief may be granted,” the ruling says.
The lawsuit accused the Legislature of overruling the will of voters in 2020 by repealing Proposition 4 and replacing it with SB200, which rescinded the prohibition on partisan gerrymandering.
That gave lawmakers free rein to draw congressional maps that served their own interests and the majority Republican Party, carving up Salt Lake County — with the state’s largest concentration of non-GOP voters — into four congressional districts.
