The Better Boundaries Citizens Petition sought to ensure that the Utah Legislature and our US Congressional Delegation are actually representative of Utahns. It did so by creating an Independent Redistricting Commission tasked with drawing voting districts that respect communities of interest, ignore partisan considerations, are geographically compact, and follow common-sense boundaries.

As with other Citizen Initiatives that pass, the Legislature gutted the law and then ignored the Commission’s work. Instead, it drew blatantly gerrymandered districts designed to silence the voices of roughly one-third of Utahns. The Utah Constitutional amendment proposed via this Special Session will enshrine the Legislature’s power–prospectively and retroactively–to overturn citizen-generated laws.

Legislators justified this effort by saying that they want to “restore” the initiative process and to give Utahns the final say in November, as constitutional amendments require voter approval. Talk about gaslighting! Their action was a clear response to the unanimous Utah Supreme Court ruling that validated our constitutional right to reform our government through ballot initiatives. Thus, this amendment “asks” that we effectively silence our own voices and further consolidate the Legislature’s power.

A NO vote on this amendment will ensure that Utahns can, in the words of our constitution, still reform our government. Remember the Port Authority? Medicaid Expansion? Now Better Boundaries. In each case, our Legislature gutted citizen-led initiatives and then made it harder to put the next one on the ballot. With a few exceptions, this amendment proposal passed along party lines. Thus, it should be obvious to anyone paying attention that it is also time to replace those who seek to silence us. VOTE AGAINST THIS AMENDMENT AND THOSE WHO PUT IT ON THE BALLOT!

Ellen Brady

Issues director for the Women’s Democratic Club of Utah