Utah Republicans pushing reforms in their state caucus and convention system are weighing their next move after the GOP rejected efforts that would force more candidates into primaries. Former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt is among the prominent Republicans in the group Count My Vote, which wants to increase the number of votes required in a nominating convention before a candidate can forgo a primary. GOP delegates rejected proposals on Saturday to raise the current 60 percent threshold to either 66.6 percent or 70 percent.
“We’re going to spend a week analyzing it,” Count My Vote chairman Rich McKeown said, according to the Deseret News ( http://tinyurl.com/mwsfvs4). “I think everybody wanted to take a breather.”
LaVarr Webb, a political consultant who writes a column for the Deseret News, is among other members of the group threatening to launch an initiative petition drive if the state party doesn’t enact reforms.
Their initiative would allow candidates who gather enough voter signatures to earn a spot on the primary ballot and bypass the convention nominating effort.
Full Article: Utah GOP weighs next step in election reforms.