Fewer than a dozen people attended a public hearing held Saturday in Price by backers of the revived Count My Vote ballot initiative. The small group was unanimously opposed to the referendum.
Count My Vote is an ad hoc effort to change the state’s election structure by implementing a direct primary election. Candidates would access the primary election ballot by being nominated by their fellow party voters rather than a small group of delegates. Organizers say the change would encourage more voter participation.
Those opposed to the change say direct primaries will favor the wealthy and well-known candidates over well-qualified but lesser known candidates.
The Count My Vote initiative was organized in 2013. The nonpartisan group is chaired by Utah Jazz owner Gail Miller, and includes former Utah Governors Mike Leavitt and Norm Bangerter, former Utah First Lady Norma Matheson, and other high-profile political and business leaders.
As the initiative gained momentum and backers had gathered 100,000 signatures toward the 102,000 needed to put the initiative on the ballot, Senate Bill 54 was introduced in the 2014 Utah Legislature to side-step the Count My Vote effort. The move was widely criticized, and legislators and referendum organizers then reached a compromise to change the election structure and abandon the initiative process.
SB 54 retains the caucus/convention system but also allows candidates to get on the ballot by gathering signatures- a method that has been the target of ongoing opposition, including a lawsuit by the Utah Republican Party.
That has prompted organizers to revive their initiative. Count My Vote Executive Director Taylor Morgan said, “We’re not opposed to it, but there’s been lawsuits and threats by the Legislature to overturn SB 54, so we decided to take our initiative and send it to the people to let them make the ultimate decision on it.”
Those who spoke at the Count My Vote public hearing in Price included District 69 State Representative Christine Watkins who said, “I personally know how expensive a primary can be. If I have to run against eight or nine or ten people, I’m not going to put that money into it. I think this is the wrong way to go.”
Carbon County Republican Party Chairwoman Kendra Seeley pointed out, “We already have two paths to the ballot and this initiative would take one away, take 50 percent of your options away. She added, “Political parties should be able to control that process with whatever threshold they choose.”
Not much support for Count My Vote in Carbon
Not much support for Count My Vote in Carbon