Utah legislative committee shuts down debate on GOP primary chaos.
Hits & Misses
By Katharine Biele @kathybiele
Hit: Party Lines
We know that there were lots of primary voters unhappy about being shut down by the Legislature. But maybe, just maybe, Eagle Mountain Republican Rep. Stephanie Gricius was right and a committee was not the "appropriate" place to air GOP grievances. The Government Operations Committee withdrew its first agenda item—Presidential Primary Elections—seemingly because the written comments were already pretty nasty. Six speakers were slated to testify—including one from the Utah Democratic Party—but everyone knew there'd be bitching about the recent chaos during GOP caucus meetings. Some legislators thought people would accuse caucuses of minimizing competition and removing candidates from the ballot. Still, primaries aren't really a state issue—yet. The GOP closes its primaries and the Democrats' are open to unaffiliated voters. There is a group that wants fully open or "jungle" primaries, but even as an initiative, there's a long way to go before that happens.
Miss: Lost in the Mail
As long as we're on voting, let's talk about mailed ballots. Polls show that some 84% of Utah voters like them. However, don't discount legislators and failed candidates who are just sure in their hearts that you can't trust the post office and that someone at some time is messing with the ballots before, during or after they are counted. Donald Trump has vacillated on them, but the national GOP seems OK, so far. Mailed ballots increase turnout, as seen in presidential and midterm elections. Utah is one of the few red states that went to all-mailed ballots and has stood as a model for the nation. That hasn't stopped legislators like Morgan Republican Rep. Kera Birkeland, who warns that she'll try again to force voters to opt in to mailed ballots. Rural Utahns will be the ones first harmed by a change.
Miss: Land Grab
It's hard to know if a PR campaign will influence the U.S. Supreme Court in the way that expensive gifts and travel perks do. That hasn't stopped Utah from trying. The Utah Attorney General's Office says people aren't educated about our public lands, 18.5 million acres of which are maintained by the feds. And the millions of dollars it will take to sue those bureaucrats is worth it, according to the Governor's Office and legislative leadership. It still chaps lawmakers that the feds have closed roads and favor conservation over grazing and recreation. How Utah would manage the lands is unclear at best. The state has its own bureaucrats to deal with that. But if Utah officials want the public to be educated, they might direct them to the Public Lands Project of the League of Women Voters of Southeast Utah. It may be too much reading, though, for the Supreme Court.
About The Author
Katharine Biele
A City Weekly contributor since 1992, Katharine Biele is the informed voice behind our Hits & Misses column. When not writing, you can catch her working to empower voters and defend democracy alongside the League of Women Voters.
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