Utah: New lawsuit adds to confusion about election law | Standard Register

Now engulfed in a second round of litigation from the Utah Republican Party, the 2014 legislative compromise known as Senate Bill 54 could result in mass confusion rather than increased voter participation. During a forum at Weber State University Wednesday, Jan. 13, two experts on Utah’s two paths to the primary election under SB54 — Count My Vote Executive Director Taylor Morgan and Utah Deputy Director of Elections Justin Lee — spoke about how the law has evolved and what that means to candidates and voters. “The only thing that’s more confusing than Utah’s old caucus/convention system is this new SB54 mess,” Morgan told the audience of about three dozen people, many of them candidates or political insiders.

Utah: State, GOP appear headed to court over election law — again | KSL

A federal judge Monday permanently barred the state from forcing political parties to hold open primary elections and dismissed all other claims in the Utah Republican Party’s lawsuit. As U.S. District Judge David Nuffer closed the case, the Utah GOP and the state continued to wrangle over the meaning of part of the law, setting the stage for another court battle, possibly before the Utah Supreme Court. Meantime, Gov. Gary Herbert told the Republican State Central Committee over the weekend that he wishes he would have vetoed the controversial new election law and let voters decide the issue as proposed by the Count My Vote initiative.

Utah: GOP, state appear headed to court on new election law — again | Deseret News

A federal judge Monday permanently barred the state from forcing political parties to hold open primary elections and dismissed all other claims in the Utah Republican Party’s lawsuit. As U.S. District Judge David Nuffer closed the case, the Utah GOP and the state continued to wrangle over the meaning of part of the law, setting the stage for another court battle, possibly before the Utah Supreme Court. Meantime, Gov. Gary Herbert told the Republican State Central Committee over the weekend that he wishes he would have vetoed the controversial new election law and let voters decide the issue as proposed by the Count My Vote initiative.

Utah: With deadline coming up Republicans still wrestling with Count My Vote | KUTV

Just when you thought the ‘Count My Vote’ war was over, a new battle breaks out within Utah’s Republican party. Candidates can start their applications for petitions recently allowed under the Count My Vote compromise on Jan. 4, less than two months away. There is however a problem, if Republican candidates go through with a petition, they could be kicking themselves out of their own party. There are two issues at hand. The first is in an inconsistency in Senate Bill 54 – passed In the Count My Vote compromise. Under the plan candidates have three options to get on the ballot:

1.Go to the convention and get nominated by 100 delegates.
2. Get a petition with 2000 signatures and head straight to the primary.
3. Or both.

Utah: State Senator seeks clarification on Utah election dispute | The Salt Lake Tribune

State Sen. Todd Weiler has asked the lieutenant governor’s office for a formal determination on whether he could become a Republican nominee by gathering signatures, potentially bringing to a head the dispute between the party and elections officials. “A lot of my colleagues have called and asked me these questions, and I’ve given them my opinion, but my opinion doesn’t count,” the District 23 Republican said. “Candidates are entitled to know the lay of the land so they can plan accordingly. And right now, everything seems to be up in the air.” In the letter, Weiler said he plans to begin gathering signatures on petitions in January to secure a spot on the Republican primary ballot. He also plans to seek the nomination through the party’s convention.

Utah: GOP believes it has gutted election-reform law | The Salt Lake Tribune

Utah Republican Party leaders claimed victory Tuesday, believing the party has gutted an overhaul to state election law and found a way to keep out of the GOP those candidates who try to win office by gathering signatures to get on the ballot. Meanwhile, a federal judge indicated he will likely strike down a provision of the law that sought to open primaries, letting members of any party or unaffiliated voters cast ballots in any primary election they choose. “Honestly, that’s how I think I’m ruling,” U.S. District Judge David Nuffer said Tuesday during a three-hour hearing. Nuffer reasoned that forcing a party to accept votes from people who are not party members amounts to “forced association” and violates the organization’s First Amendment rights. He said to let the open primaries go forward, only to have the provision ruled unconstitutional later, would be like standing by and watching a wreck happen, then saying there should have been a guard. “I don’t want to let an election happen that is invalid,” Nuffer said.

Utah: Lawmakers may not agree on how to handle election plurality | Deseret News

Lawmakers may not be able to come up with a proposal during the legislative interim to prevent a candidate from winning a primary election without a majority vote, a co-chairman of a committee studying the issue said Wednesday. “This one is an interesting one because we could do nothing and just see how things shake out in 2016,” Rep. Jack Draxler, R-North Logan, said after the Government Operations Interim Committee’s first hearing on the possibly of plurality. Draxler, the committee’s House chairman, said he’d be surprised if members can come to a consensus on how to handle the issue created by SB54, the compromise reached to stop the Count My Vote initiative that sought a direct primary.

Utah: Last year’s ‘Count My Vote’ deal survives many attacks | The Salt Lake Tribune

Legislators, at least most of them, decided this year that a deal is a deal. Despite numerous attempts to overturn it, lawmakers stood by last year’s deal to reform how political parties choose their nominees. They killed five bills to overturn, rework or delay a compromise that last year led backers of the Count My Vote ballot initiative to discard more than 100,000 petition signatures they had gathered to create a direct primary. The compromise, called SB54, allows candidates to qualify for a primary either by gathering enough signatures (similar to a direct primary), or through the old caucus-convention system. It also allows unaffiliated voters to vote in party primaries, which the Utah GOP previously banned in its primary.

Utah: Future Uncertain for Fix to Count My Vote Compromise | Utah Policy

A bill that could throw a party candidates’ nomination back to delegates passed the Utah House Monday night, but its future in the Senate is unclear. Fifteen GOP House members who voted for the SB54 compromise bill last year went against the wishes of the Count My Vote leaders and supported an amended HB313. The bill passed 39-34, with two House members absent from the vote. In the meantime, UtahPolicy is told by Utah Republican Party Chairman  James Evans that he would be willing to accept even further amendments to HB313 to make it more acceptable to legislators. Evans met with GOP senators Tuesday afternoon in a closed caucus. (The Senate Republicans always hold closed caucuses.)

Utah: House barely passes tweak to new primary election process | The Salt Lake Tribune

The Utah House narrowly passed a bill that would let a party’s delegates choose the party’s nominee if nobody in a primary election gets more than 40 percent of the vote. The bill is in response to last year’s compromise between lawmakers and organizers of Count My Vote, which was pushing a voter initiative allowing candidates who gather enough signatures to get to the primary ballot without going through the traditional caucus-and-convention process. Rep. Marc Roberts, R-Santaquin, said the concern is that someone would win the party’s nomination without winning a majority of the vote. His bill was amended to let delegates make the decision between the top two vote-getters if no nominee gets at least 40 percent. “I think we should demand at least 50 percent. We will live at 40 percent at this point,” Roberts said.

Utah: Senate Kills Bill to Delay Count My Vote Compromise | Utah Policy

GOP Senate leaders had told UtahPolicy that the SB54 delay bill would die in their body, and, indeed, Sen. Scott Jenkins’ attempt to delay the political party candidate nomination change did die Tuesday. Whether it will pop up again before the Legislature adjourns March 12, either in the Senate or in the House (which already has killed a similar bill) remains to be seen. Sen. Scott Jenkins’ SB43 – which would delay the new dual-track political party candidate primary ballot route until 2018 – died in a 9-19 vote (one absent) after about 30 minutes of debate Tuesday morning. You can see the vote here. No senator who voted for SB54 last year switched and voted to delay it Tuesday. All the no votes came from GOP senators who voted against SB54 last year or are new GOP senators this session.

Utah: Amendment advances to overturn ‘Count My Vote’ compromise | The Salt Lake Tribune

The Senate gave preliminary approval Monday to a constitutional amendment that could overturn a new law to change how parties choose their nominees. The Senate voted 17-12 to send SJR2 to a final vote later this week — but that was three votes short of the two-thirds majority (20 of 29 members) that it would need eventually to pass and be sent to the House, and perhaps eventually to voters for a decision. Its sponsor, Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, said the amendment would ask voters “the question: should a party’s rights be infringed upon.” He said the amendment says “parties should be able to decide under their own terms and circumstances how their candidate goes to a ballot.”

Utah: GOP sues over nominating system overhaul | Associated Press

The Utah Republican Party filed a lawsuit Monday against the state’s new rule that allows candidates to bypass the caucus and convention system— a legal challenge to a measure approved by the majority of the state GOP. The measure was a compromise the Republican-dominated legislature reached with Count My Vote, which was gathering signatures for an initiative petition that would have let voters decide to abandon the caucus system. The initiative was backed by several high-profile Republicans including former Gov. Mike Leavitt and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Governor Gary Herbert, a Republican, signed it into law. The law, scheduled to take effect next year, preserves Utah’s caucus-convention system but allows candidates to participate in primary elections as an alternative path if they gather enough signatures. Utah’s current, relatively unique system allows candidates to avoid a primary election if they win their party’s nominations with 60 percent of delegate votes.

Utah: GOP Mulling Lawsuit Over ‘Count My Vote’ Compromise | UtahPolicy

Utah Republican Party leaders tell UtahPolicy that they are considering suing the state over SB54, the Count My Vote citizen initiative petition compromise that provides a dual-track process to candidate nominations. It’s not the dual-track that state party chair James Evans finds illegal. Rather, it is the requirement in SB54 that political parties have an open primary. The state GOP has a closed primary today. Several court cases, including one in Idaho, rule that the government can’t force a political party to open its primaries, says Evans. Thus, there are legal problems with SB54 from the get-go, Evans believes. That may be the case if the compromise law, sponsored by Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, forced all political parties to have open primaries.

Utah: Parties to hold final caucuses under current system | The Salt Lake Tribune

For perhaps one last time, political party caucuses this week will figure into a long-running debate about whether small extremist groups can use them to control Utah’s ballot, or if big attendance there instead can ensure mainstream choices. Examples of when small groups ruled — such as the tea party dumping former GOP Sen. Bob Bennett four years ago, even though polls showed he likely easily would have won a primary — led to a change in the system that takes effect Jan. 1. Gov. Gary Herbert this month signed into law SB54 as a compromise between parties and the Count My Vote drive. It will allow Utah’s current caucus-and-convention system to continue with reforms, but also allows candidates to bypass it and gain direct access to a primary election if they gather enough signatures. But for one last time under the old system — unless courts overturn SB54 — Democrats hold their caucuses on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Republicans hold theirs on Thursday at 7 p.m. Locations may be found online at utdem.org and utgop.org.