Salt Lake City, UT – Third District Court Judge Dianna Gibson ruled in favor of plaintiffs this morning, after hearing arguments in an expedited hearing yesterday afternoon. The ruling means that Amendment D may still appear on the ballot with the current language, but if it does, the votes will not be counted.
Jeff Merchant, Executive Director for Alliance for a Better Utah, issued the following statement:
“This ruling is a win for Utahns rights and a win for justice. The legislature failed to meet the constitutional deadline for transparency, and this rightfully got struck down. However, we should have never gotten to this point; Utahns deserve better from those who claim to represent them.”
“Now we can focus our efforts on accountability for all the senators and representatives who voted in favor of this power grab, many of whom are up for re-election this year,” says Merchant. “ People are angry about the attempt to dupe them into giving up their rights, and they should be. The people know who supported this effort, and I’m confident voters will hold them accountable and vote them out this November.”
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Alliance for a Better Utah is a nonprofit that holds politicians accountable and advocates for progressive policies that make Utah an even better place. The organization improves the lives of all Utahns through advocacy, transparency, and accountability in Utah politics, policy, and government. More information at www.betterutah.org.
