'Orwellian doublespeak': Lawsuit asks judge to scrap 'misleading' Utah constitutional amendment

The fight over the Utah Legislature’s attempt to rewrite the state Constitution to override a recent Utah Supreme Court ruling in a legal battle over the state’s redistricting process has spurred a new lawsuit.

Plaintiffs in the court case at the heart of the issue — currently suing over the Utah Legislature’s 2021 move to repeal and replace a 2018 ballot initiative sought by the anti-gerrymandering group Better Boundaries — filed a new suit against state leaders on Friday, attempting to stop a proposed constitutional amendment from being printed on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Amendment D’s language written by Utah’s top Republican legislative leaders “fails to accurately submit the Amendment to the voters,” the motion filed in 3rd District Judicial Court says. “Instead, it seeks through deception to mislead Utah voters into surrendering their constitutional rights.”

Amendment D violates constitutional requirements and should be declared void, argue the plaintiffs (League of Women Voters of Utah, Mormon Women for Ethical Government, and individual Salt Lake County residents who alleged they were disenfranchised by unlawful gerrymandering). The Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan group devoted to “advancing democracy through law” also joined the suit.



https://utahnewsdispatch.com/2024/09/06/lawsuit-asks-judge-scrap-misleading-utah-constitutional-amendment-d/