Judge to Rule on Utah Ballot Measure Challenged by League of Women Voters

A Utah judge will decide on Thursday whether to remove from the November ballot a proposed state constitutional amendment that would give the state Legislature the power to override citizen initiatives.

The League of Women Voters of Utah and other groups have challenged the measure, which was supported by lawmakers in August. They argue that the wording of the ballot measure is confusing and could mislead voters.

The groups want to have the measure removed from the ballot before it goes to print. With the election just eight weeks away, they face a tight deadline and want to avoid the costs of reprinting ballots for Utah’s county clerks.

Salt Lake County District Judge Dianna Gibson said she will provide an informal ruling by email Wednesday night and a formal decision on Thursday morning.

During a hearing, League of Women Voters attorney Mark Gaber argued that the measure could be misunderstood as strengthening the citizen initiative process, even though it would actually allow the Legislature to repeal voter initiatives.

Legislature attorney Tyler Green disagreed, stating that the measure would indeed strengthen the initiative process, as described in the ballot language. He also said that the Legislature’s recent actions were not to blame for the tight deadline.

The proposed amendment stems from a 2018 ballot measure that established an independent commission to draw legislative districts every ten years. This measure aimed to prevent gerrymandering, but the Legislature removed that provision in 2020.

The Legislature ignored the commission’s congressional map and passed its own, which divided Salt Lake City into four districts, all represented by Republicans. In July, the Utah Supreme Court ruled that the Legislature had overstepped by reversing the anti-gerrymandering ban.

In response, the Legislature proposed the amendment to be voted on in November to regain powers previously deemed beyond their authority.