Hello John  ,

Nat here, Democracy Policy Associate, with an important update about Constitutional Amendment D.

You might’ve already heard that this past weekend the League of Women Voters of Utah, Mormon Women for Ethical Government, and the individual plaintiffs in Utah’s anti-gerrymandering litigation filed a legal challenge contesting the validity of Amendment D due to its misleading language and rushed process.

We are proud and overjoyed to share that this morning, during an expedited court hearing process, Utah’s Third District Court ruled in favor on both counts. As a result, Constitutional Amendment D, while still appearing on the ballot this November, will be voided.

This means that votes will not count for or against the amendment. This is a huge win for Utahns! 

Constitutional Amendment D was a power grab by the Utah legislature to change our state constitution and remove our right to reform our government. Upon the release of the amendment language, many groups - including citizens, legislators, newspapers, and organizations - called out the deceptive ballot language and rushed special session by legislative leadership.

However, our work is not done. Legislative leadership has said they intend to appeal this decision to the Utah Supreme Court. We hope the Court continues to affirm Utahns’ constitutional rights, but until then we will continue our Vote Against Amendment D Campaign.

Thank you for joining us in this fight to protect ballot initiatives. While we wait for the Supreme Court’s decision, please continue to talk about Amendment D with your friends, family, colleagues, and neighbors. 

Onwards,

Nat Williams

Democracy Policy Associate

[email protected]

www.stewardshiputah.org

P.S. Want to support us in other ways? We are currently running a match campaign with Garbett Homes which means any donation between now and September 20th will be doubled! All donations will go towards our efforts, including the Vote Against Amendment D Campaign until the amendment is officially dead. (Disclaimer: Stewardship Utah’s co-Director David Garbett’s father founded Garbett Homes, and his brother is now the president.)