Groups sue to block 'misleading' constitutional amendment from being put on the ballot

SALT LAKE CITY — Several groups and individuals who have challenged the constitutionality of Utah's congressional maps are now asking the courts to block a proposed constitutional amendment from being placed on the November ballot, saying the "certified ballot language fails to accurately submit the amendment to the voters."

The plaintiffs, represented by the Campaign Legal Center, filed a supplemental complaint on Thursday to an ongoing legal case in Utah's 3rd District Court, arguing the language of proposed Constitutional Amendment D that will be put to voters is "a flagrantly misleading" representation of the actual proposal. Because of that, the plaintiffs claim, the language of the question being put to voters violates the Utah Constitution requiring that "the said amendment ... shall be submitted to the electors of the state for their approval or rejection."

"The plain language of Article XXIII requires that the amendment be submitted to voters on the ballot, not a misleading and false summary of it," the complaint states. "The use of ballot language for a proposed amendment that is misleading, deceptive, inaccurate, biased, or unreasonable deprives voters of their constitutionally guaranteed choice and contravenes the Utah Constitution's requirement to 'submit' the proposed amendment to a popular vote."

Attorneys for the plaintiffs filed a separate motion Thursday, seeking a preliminary injunction to strike the proposed amendment from the general election ballot.

"Utah politicians refuse to accept any check on their power," said Mark Gaber, senior director of redistricting at the Campaign Legal Center. "First, they overruled the will of the people by repealing Prop 4, and now they are trying to overrule the Utah Supreme Court. This eleventh-hour push for an unnecessary constitutional amendment, along with the misleading language to deceive Utahns into voting for it, is yet another example of Utah politicians doing everything they can to take power away from the people and give it to themselves."

Better Boundaries, the group that ran a 2018 ballot initiative on redistricting, issued a statement in support of the lawsuit and request to remove the amendment proposal, saying the actual amendment "would do the opposite of what the misleading ballot language claims and would weaken Utahns' ability to make their voice heard through the ballot initiative process."

Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz and Senate President Stuart Adams accused critics of the amendment of "trying to obstruct Utahns" from weighing in on the question.

"It's ironic that the very people who claim to advocate for greater voter engagement are the same ones trying to obstruct Utahns from having the opportunity to vote on this important matter," the two told KSL.com through a spokeswoman. "The plaintiffs are clearly concerned about leaving it to voters to decide. Before initiatives overwhelm and significantly alter our state, Utahns should have the opportunity to voice their opinions."

The pair issued a joint statement earlier this week in reaction to the controversy sparked by the release of the language to be put on the ballot, saying "those who label these efforts as deceptive are often the ones attempting to mislead voters."

The legal filings are the latest in a long-running dispute between the state's Republican-dominated state Legislature and several groups who argue lawmakers overstepped the people's authority when they changed a 2018 ballot initiative to create an independent body to advise on the drawing of political maps.

Lawmakers amended the role of the independent redistricting commission to an advisory one, and later ignored the commission's recommendations and adopted political maps they drew themselves — which many contend intentionally split the Democratic stronghold in Salt Lake City between all four congressional districts and eliminated a previously competitive House district.

Plaintiffs — including the League of Women Voters of Utah, Mormon Women for Ethical Government and several residents — sued the state in 2022, claiming the Legislature violated Utahns' rights to free elections and ignored the authority of voters to pass legislation through the ballot initiative process.

The Utah Supreme Court agreed lawmakers overreached in altering the ballot initiative in a ruling this July, which sent waves of panic through the GOP caucus and prompted an emergency special session last month to adopt the proposed constitutional amendment as an attempt to sidestep the high court's ruling.

While the full text of the proposed amendment is included in SJR401 — which passed on mostly partisan lines — top legislative leaders are tasked with writing the language of the ballot question that will appear before voters. Previous ballot questions about proposed amendments were written by legislative attorneys, but Constitutional Amendment D's question was written by Schultz and Adams after lawmakers changed the law earlier this year to give "presiding officers" that responsibility.

The text of the ballot question asks voters:

The actual text that would be added to the Constitution states: "Notwithstanding any other provision of this Constitution, the people's exercise of their legislative power as provided in subsection (2) does not limit or preclude the exercise of legislative power, including through amending, enacting, or repealing a law, by the Legislature, or by a law-making body of a county, city, or town, on behalf of the people whom they are elected to represent."

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