There’s an old story about a monkey needing to cross a great river. A smooth-talking crocodile convinces the monkey that he will take him across safely on his tail. In one version of the story, the crocodile entices the monkey to come closer to his head, with promises of a safer ride, until he snaps his jaws and the monkey becomes a meal.

In 2018, Utah voters passed Prop 4, creating an independent redistricting commission to draw new political maps that would more fairly represent voters and help prevent gerrymandering. Recently, the Utah Legislature has been choosing their voters instead of voters choosing their Legislature, which is neither representative nor democratic.

The Utah Legislature, unhappy with Prop 4, passed Senate Bill 200, which was touted as a compromise. The independent redistricting commission could create their maps and the Legislature would take them under advisement. When it came time to approve new maps, however, the Legislature drew its own hyperpartisan maps, completely ignoring the commission’s input.

Last year, the League of Women Voters, Mormon Women for Ethical Government and several individual plaintiffs filed a lawsuit asserting that the Legislature had violated the rights of Utah voters. A key portion of the case ended up before the Utah Supreme Court. After a year of careful deliberation, the court announced a unanimous and narrowly targeted ruling that the power to reform its government ultimately resides with the people of Utah. Legislative leaders decried the decision, claiming the court ruling was extreme.

Last month, legislators hastily crafted legislation to put an amendment on November’s ballot. Since the court checked their power, they are trying to convince the people of Utah to give up their constitutional rights. The proposed amendment gives the Legislature final and retroactive power to change any voter initiative … forever. They released the bill with only a day to review and 10 minutes for public comment. The bill passed, in spite of objections from Democratic and even some Republican legislators.

Recently, the Legislature presented the ballot language for proposed Amendment D, which will read as follows:

• Should the Utah Constitution be changed to strengthen the initiative process by:
  • Prohibiting foreign influence on ballot initiatives and referendums.
  • Clarifying the voters’ and legislative bodies’ ability to amend laws.

• If approved, state law would also be changed to:
  • Allow Utah citizens 50% more time to gather signatures for a statewide referendum.
  • Establish requirements for the legislature to follow the intent of a ballot initiative.
  • ( )FOR ( )AGAINST

The language is intentionally misleading; the legislation weakens voter power and voids the Utah Supreme Court’s ruling requiring the Legislature to follow the intent of ballot initiatives. The proposed amendment may sound helpful — eliminating “foreign influence” and extending time to gather signatures. However, these matters are meaningless in the context of the bill.

Last week, the same plaintiffs filed a new suit against the Legislature over the ballot language and lack of notice given voters, as required by law. A district judge ruled that the question on the ballot should be thrown out because the Legislature had failed to “accurately communicate” the content of the bill or publish it two months before the election. However, it will still appear on ballots, which are now being printed, because the Legislature has appealed to the Utah Supreme Court.

Even if you consider yourself conservative and are generally happy with our Legislature, please consider as you fill out your ballot that there is always danger in unchecked power. The Utah Legislature has shown that they are willing to snub any checks to their power. We are all at risk.

Utah is among the fastest-growing states in the nation. Political power may change. There might come a day when you feel the Legislature has abused its power and, as the saying goes, you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. Once Amendment D is enshrined in the Utah Constitution, it will be nearly impossible to undo.

Perhaps some legislators truly believe this is in our best interest — even if it suppresses the will of the people — and we know that there are legislators who crossed party lines to oppose this measure, but the Utah Legislature, acting as a body, has shown us who they are; they are willing to subvert the will of the people, rig the system in their favor, villainize and ignore the Republican-appointed Utah courts and deceive voters into thinking they have our best interest in mind.

In another version of the story of the monkey and the crocodile, the monkey finds out the crocodile’s intentions and devises a way to get back to safety. We know who the Legislature is, and we now know what their intentions are: Will we fall for their tricks, or will we hold on to our freedoms?

Molly Hadfield is a longtime Provo resident and a community manager for Mormon Women for Ethical Government.