Legal expert discusses the Amendment D ruling on Utah’s November ballot

SALT LAKE CITY — A judge has ruled that Constitutional Amendment D will be void on Utah’s November ballot. It will appear on the physical ballot, but any votes it receives will not be tallied.

 

The amendment would have given the Utah legislature more power to adjust voter-approved initiatives.

Judge Dianna M. Gibson issued the ruling on Thursday morning after hearing arguments on Wednesday afternoon.

KSL Legal Analyst Greg Skordas said the amendment is void because of the current law and because of Gibson’s order.  

Related: Judge rules Amendment D be voided from Utah’s November ballot

Skordas said the 20-page ruling was very broad. In those 20 pages, Gibson spells out the problems with Amendment D.

“There’s a problem with the language of Amendment D,” Skordas said. “It is arguably misleading. But more importantly, there is a problem with the procedure.”

According to Skordas, Gibson cites the Utah Constitution which states if a constitutional amendment is offered for voter approval, it must be published in at least one newspaper in every county in Utah for two months before the general election.

The legislature argued that the amendment was posted on the lieutenant governor’s website, which they believe should count as a way to inform the public of the amendment.

“The people in every county don’t necessarily go onto the lieutenant governor’s website,” said Skordas. “I’ve probably never gone on it myself, in my lifetime. People read the paper, they know what’s going on in their various counties, they know what’s going on in the state.”

Skordas added there may be other ways to get the amendment information out with today’s technology, like online newspapers. However, that did not happen with Amendment D.

“That language is in there for a reason. And I’m not being critical of the legislature, they felt that something needed to be done. But it may be done next year, it may be done the year after that,” Skordas said.

“[The legislature] need to follow the procedures if [they’re] going to do something as substantial, as momentous as changing the Utah Constitution.”

Could Amendment D end up on November ballots?

Skordas said the Utah Supreme Court would have to override Gibson’s for voters to weigh in on Amendment D in November.

He added that this would likely have to happen within the next 10 days.

Related: Amendment D lawsuit hearing date set for Wednesday, September 11