Gov. Herbert vetoes special election bill, signs 18-week abortion ban and 118 other bills

Utah Gov. Gary Herbert issued his first veto of 2019 on Monday, rejecting a bill that would have created a process for filling congressional vacancies that relies on party delegates and excludes candidates from gathering voter signatures.

In a letter explaining his veto of SB123 to the Utah House speaker and Senate president, Herbert said the bill contains ambiguities and “significantly limits participation and choice” by straying from the state’s dual-track election process created under SB54 in 2014.

“Utah law provides multiple paths to the ballot for partisan elections: a political party convention and signature gathering being the most common,” Herbert wrote. “These options have been embraced by the majority of Utah voters as providing reasonable alternatives to access the ballot.”

Herbert had previously sparred with lawmakers on this topic in the lead-up to the special election to replace then-Rep. Jason Chaffetz after his resignation from Congress in 2017.

Read more: https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2019/03/26/gov-herbert-vetoes/