VICTORY: CLC, Utahns Win Case Over Amendment D

Salt Lake City, UT - On Wednesday, Campaign Legal Center represented League of Women Voters of Utah (LWV Utah), Mormon Women for Ethical Government (MWEG) and a bipartisan group of voters in a hearing over the legality of Constitutional Amendment D appearing on Utahns' November ballot.

Today the court ruled that Utahns have a constitutional right to a truthful ballot and the Legislature has a constitutional obligation to provide proper notice of a constitutional amendment to the people. Because of the Legislature's rushed process and misleading ballot language, Amendment D's placement on the ballot was unconstitutional. In response to the Legislature's failures, and to protect Utahns' constitutional rights, the court ordered that although Amendment D may appear on the ballot, the amendment will be void and will not become law.

Following the decision, Campaign Legal Center (CLC), the League of Women Voters of Utah (LWV Utah), and Mormon Women for Ethical Government (MWEG) issued the following statements:

"Today, the court has ruled the legislature's bait-and-switch has failed," said Katharine Biele, League of Women Voters of Utah president. "Make no mistake, this rush to amend the constitution was unnecessary, and we hope lawmakers reconsider their tactics. Citizens voted them into office in good faith, a faith that they would respect their constituents and work transparently. We believe in representative government and the principles that make our democracy work. The court agrees."

"This victory is a win for Utah's citizens. Proposed Amendment D was yet another unconstitutional move by the legislature designed to overrule the will of the voters and consolidate power," said Mark Gaber, senior director of redistricting at Campaign Legal Center. "This decision will help preserve the balance of power in Utah and reaffirms the primacy of the constitution in all matters of governance. The court correctly ruled that a proposed amendment that violates the constitution in how it is presented to voters cannot become law. This outcome is a direct result of the Legislature's rush to take power for itself while ignoring the constitution and the voters."

"It has been inspiring to see the outpouring of interest and support from a cross-partisan group of Utahns over the past few weeks as we worked together to advocate for fidelity to the constitution," said Emma Petty Addams, Co-Executive Director of Mormon Women for Ethical Government. "This ruling represents a positive and empowering outcome for the people of Utah."

Background:

In 2018, Utahns exercised their right to reform their government by passing a bipartisan initiative, Prop 4, also known as "Better Boundaries." This effort created the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission (IRC) and banned partisan gerrymandering.

In response, in 2020 the Utah Legislature repealed Prop 4 and replaced it with SB 200, which gutted the key redistricting reforms in Prop 4, and enacted a congressional map that is an extreme partisan gerrymander, in direct contradiction to the will of the voters. Additionally, in 2023 and 2024, Utah politicians attempted to raise the threshold for the passage of ballot initiatives from a simple majority to 60%.

In July 2024, the Utah Supreme Court reaffirmed that Utahns' right to alter or reform the government through a ballot initiative is a fundamental constitutional right that the Legislature cannot ignore. Proposed Amendment D was an effort to overturn this ruling from the Utah Supreme Court.

One month later, the Legislature convened an "emergency" session in August to propose a constitutional amendment designed to give themselves the power Utah's constitution reserves for the people. The Legislature changed ballot deadlines in Utah law and drafted a rushed constitutional amendment with severely limited citizen input. This proposed constitutional amendment would have effectively allowed the Legislature to amend or repeal citizen-passed ballot initiatives with virtually no limitation.

Following an additional change in state law that allowed partisan legislative leaders to draft the language describing the amendment on the ballot, the Legislature presented misleading ballot language that falsely described the effects of Amendment D. The Legislature also failed to publish the full text of the amendment in newspapers in each county in the state as required by the Constitution. CLC is representing the League of Women Voters of Utah (LWV Utah), Mormon Women for Ethical Government (MWEG), and a bipartisan group of individual voters in the ongoing lawsuit.

About Campaign Legal Center - The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center advances democracy through law. We safeguard the freedom to vote, defend voters' right to know who is spending money to influence elections, and work to ensure public trust in our elected officials. Learn more about CLC.

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About League of Women Voters of Utah - LWVUT is a nonpartisan nonprofit membership organization located in Salt Lake City, Utah that is dedicated to empowering voters and defending democracy. LWVUT encourages active participation in government and works to increase its members and voters' understanding of major public policy issues. For more information, please visit https://www.lwvutah.org.

About Mormon Women for Ethical Government - MWEG is a nonpartisan nonprofit membership organization based in Riverton, Utah. MWEG is guided by its four core attributes: to be faithful, nonpartisan, peaceful, and proactive. MWEG is dedicated to inspiring women of faith and of all political affiliations to be ambassadors of peace who transcend partisanship and advocate for ethical government. MWEG is not affiliated with or endorsed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

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