Count My Vote is down for the count after Supreme Court ruling

August 23, 2018 Utah Channel 3

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Court has blocked Count My Vote from going on the November ballot.

In an order issued Friday afternoon, the state’s top court said it would issue a formal opinion at a later date, but signaled in its order the ruling was not unanimous, Fox 13 News reported.

Count My Vote organizers sued after they were kicked off the November ballot because enough people had removed signatures from the citizen initiative. In arguments last week before the court, attorneys for Count My Vote argued it was too difficult to get on the ballot, with signature thresholds in Senate districts, but too easy to remove signatures (opponents get 30 days to persuade voters to rescind).

Count My Vote allowed political candidates to gather signatures to get on the ballot, bypassing the caucus/convention system. It’s been the subject of legislative fights and triggered a civil war within the Utah Republican Party, with litigation that’s nearly bankrupted the state’s dominant party. Mitt Romney, Gov. Gary Herbert and U.S. Rep. John Curtis have all gathered signatures to ensure a spot on the ballot against more hard-line conservative members.

Read the full story here.

Written by BEN WINSLOW, Fox 13 News

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