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Pamela,
Last week, the Utah Legislature's conservative supermajority rushed a proposed constitutional amendment to the ballot that, if passed by voters in November, would significantly undermine democracy. It's a classic example of politicians stripping voters of their power in order to secure more control for themselves.
Here's a quick overview to get you up to speed on the fight for fair maps in Utah:
- Utah voters have the constitutional right to enact laws through the ballot initiative process.
- In 2018, voters passed Proposition 4, establishing the Utah Independent Redistricting Commission and banning partisan gerrymandering. This was a big victory for the fair maps movement.
- Then in 2020, the Republican-controlled Utah Legislature essentially repealed and replaced Proposition 4, passing a new law that took away the commission's power to draw the state's maps.
- With Proposition 4 no longer the law of the land, the legislature enacted new maps that split the most progressive, diverse, and populous county. This was done intentionally to eliminate political competition.
- The League of Women Voters of Utah, Mormon Women for Ethical Government, and residents from Salt Lake County filed a lawsuit claiming the Utah Legislature overstepped when it repealed and replaced Proposition 4.
- This past July, in a huge win for the voters of Utah and democracy more broadly, the Utah Supreme Court ruled in favor of the voters, and sent the case back to a lower court to determine if the legislature did indeed violate the state constitution!
But then, just last week, a group of extreme, right-wing politicians called a last-minute special session to sneak a constitutional amendment onto this November's ballot, aiming to strip voters of much of their power when passing laws to reform their government.
The proposed amendment would give the legislature the authority to repeal and replace any citizen-driven ballot initiative, and it would be retroactively applied to previous initiatives. This would mean the legislature would be giving itself the power to repeal and replace Proposition 4 – what the people of Utah voted for – putting fair maps, and the ability for citizens to check the power of elected officials, at risk.
The conservative leaders of the Utah Legislature only provided the text of the amendment 24 hours before the vote — and they scheduled this session just days before the final deadline to get initiatives on this November's ballot. Though there were hundreds of voters rallying at the Utah Capitol against this proposal, the legislature approved referring this constitutional amendment to voters in November.
This particular fight for fair maps is far from over. Utahns now get to vote on the constitutional amendment in November. There's a lot of crucial work to be done to educate voters on the significant impact this amendment will have on democracy.
The extreme measures that the conservative legislature is pursuing to seize power for themselves should be unbelievable. But we're seeing things like this happen all across the country. All On The Line is working day in and day out to push back against discriminatory voting maps, protect the rights of marginalized communities, and achieve a more inclusive democracy for all. But additional attacks on our democracy are coming, and we need your help.
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Thank you,
All On The Line
All On The Line is the grassroots advocacy campaign supported by the National Redistricting Action Fund. Support our work to end gerrymandering.
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