Utah Redistricting Commission (2010)

Not on Ballot
This measure was not put on an election ballot

A Utah Redistricting Commission Initiative did not appear on the November 2, 2010 ballot in Utah as an initiated state statute after initiative supporters failed to collect sufficient signature to place the initiative on the ballot. According to supporters approximately 50,000 signatures were collected; well below the 94,552 minimum requirement.

The ballot initiative was filed on May 6, 2009. The objective of the redistricting initiative was to establish a commission to set the state's 75 state legislative district boundaries, rather than continue with the existing method of state legislators redrawing district boundaries after each decennial federal census.

Ballot measure details

The following was the submitted ballot measure text:

This measure would have enacted provisions in the Election Code to establish an independent redistricting commission.

This measure was designed to:

• provide an intent statement;
• provide definitions;
• require that redistricting occur only every ten years after the decennial census or in association with a change in the number of congressional, legislative, or state school board seats for a reason other than the decimal census;
• provide the standards for election districts;
• establish and independent redistricting commission that is composed of Utah citizens;
• establish the membership requirements and procedures for the commission;
• provide for the replacement and compensation of members;
• require the commission to prepare a redistricting plan for presentation at public hearings and to the legislature;
• provide a uniform scoring matrix for the commission's creation and consideration when preparing a redistricting plan;
• require the commission's final plan to be based on the scoring matrix;
• permit alternative plans submitted by citizens and commission members to be considered and scored by the commission;
• require the commission to hold public hearings on the plan approved by the commission;
• provide the technical staff for the commission be provided by the Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel and permits the commission to hire its own legal counsel for legal assistance;
• require the commission to request a supermajority vote that the plan be submitted to the legislature for the legislature's approval or rejection at a Special Session;
• require the legislature to prepare a redistricting plan pursuant to the scoring matrix, in compliance with mandatory anti-gerrymandering standards, and subject to the Open and Public Meetings Act, Title 52, Chapter 4, if the commission's plan is rejected; and provide a severability clause.

Fiscal impact

According to the Governor's Office of Planning and Budget the fiscal impact of the proposed Utah Redistricting Commission would have been $1,036,000 in total fiscal expenses from the general fund. An additional $36,000 would have been used for the production and dissemination of voter information related to the staffing of the proposed commission.

Support

The redistricting initiative was sponsored by a group called the Fair Boundaries Coalition. Its official sponsors were Mark Sage, Tania Knauer, Catherine Millicent Shaw Lewis, Mary Jo Bishop and Cynthia J. Bias-Thompson. Most of the leading sponsors of the initiative were Democrats.

Potential opposition

House Speaker David Clark indicated he would be active in dialogue on the issue. He chaired a 50-state redistricting committee for the National Conference of State Legislatures and said he generally preferred to have the Utah State Legislature continue to draw the state's legislative boundaries.

Path to the ballot

The proposed measure was filed on May 6, 2009, after which the Lieutenant Governor of Utah had 28 days to review the document. A series of seven hearings in various locations throughout the state were held from July 1st through July 9th.

In order to qualify the measure for the ballot, supporters were required to collect a minimum of 94,552 signatures by April 15, 2010.

Signature removal bill

Sen. Howard Stephenson's SB275 passed a Senate committee in February 2010. The legislation was designed to make it easier for signers to remove their signatures from initiative petitioners and to apply to initiatives proposed in 2010. "All I want is for people to have a fair chance to remove their names," said Stephenson. Initiative supporters called the proposed legislation an effort to "[try] to take power away from the people."

In Mid-March 2010, the bill was approved with a two-thirds majority and took effect as soon as it was signed by Gov. Gary Herbert.

The Senate Bill 275 bill can be read here.

Supporters request veto

In early March 2010 Utahns for Ethical Government (UEG) requested Gov. Gary Herbert to veto SB275, a proposed signature-removal bill. The bill, argued supporters of Utah Ethics Commission Initiative and the Redistricting Commission Initiative , would "undermine their petition drive." UEG treasurer Vik Arnold said in an email to the governor, "If the bill was NOT aimed squarely at the two citizens initiatives already under way, then why is it so important for the bill to have an expedited effective date?"

Signed into law

On Saturday, March 27, 2010, Gov. Gary Herbert signed SB 275. Under the bill, removal of a signature can happen up to a month before petitions are due or become public. The new law applied immediately.

Online signature solicitation

The Peoples Right LLC, a citizen group, announced in January 2010 that it was soliciting signatures for two Utah initiatives online - www.i-sign.us - including the Restricting Measure and Ethics Initiative. According to Utah state law, electronic signatures are viewed as valid substitutes, however election code mandates that strict guidelines be followed for paper signature forms and only addresses.

On February 10, 2010 both the attorney general and lieutenant governor announced that electronic petition signatures are not valid. "My review and analysis of the statutory provisions indicates that the laws governing initiatives do not contemplate or allow for the use of electronic signatures," said Attorney General Mark Shurtleff in a five-page analysis of the proposed online process. According to reports the issue is likely to head to court.

High Court ruling

In a June 22, 2010 ruling the Utah Supreme Court unanimously concluded that electronic signatures are just as valid as handwritten signatures and must be accepted by state election officials. However, initiatives were not explicitly discussed in the ruling.

Of the court's decision, the lieutenant governor said, "This is a brave new world where no one has gone before." Lt. Gov. Greg Bell said on Tuesday that he never rejected the idea of e-signatures but instead that his interpretation of state law differed from the court's.

See also

• Utah 2010 ballot measures
• Utah State Legislature
  • Utah State Senate
  • Utah House of Representatives
• Fair Boundaries Coalition

Articles

• Last day to file signatures for initiated state statutes in Utah
• Newly adopted petition law causes heated debates in Utah
• Utah legislation proposes easier petition name removal
• Debate about online petition signatures hits three states
• Utah group hopes to move initiative signature solicitation online
• Redistricting initiative filed in Utah

External links

• Text of initiative
• List of sponsors
• Utah 2010 initiatives currently in circulation

Additional reading

• KCSG, "Initiative Petitions Fail to Reach Signature Limits," June 1, 2010
• Salt Lake City Weekly, "Referendum organizer calls process 'unconstitutional'," accessed April 27, 2010
• Rose Institute of State and Local Government, "Utah Redistricting: No Reform for 2011," accessed April 21, 2010
• The Spectrum, "Petitioners' deadline nears," April 6, 2010
• Deseret News, "Final push under way to get initiatives on state ballot," April 2, 2010
• Deseret News, "Citizen initiatives to miss deadline: Petitions to Legislature won't gather enough signatures," November 13, 2009