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SALT LAKE CITY — A House committee Tuesday voted down a bill that sought to delay changes to Utah's system for picking candidates to run for elected office.
HB281 would have allowed political parties to choose nominees in a convention for the 2016 primary election.
Bill sponsor Rep. Fred Cox, R-West Valley City, said he's not looking to overturn a bill the Legislature approved last year that allows candidates to bypass the caucus and convention system and instead gather signatures to win a spot on the primary ballot.
"What I am asking for is time," he told the House Government Operations Committee. Utah Republican Party leaders say they can't implement the changes in time for the 2016 election.
The committee voted 6-3 against the bill.
A similar measure in the Senate, SB43, cleared the Senate Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee earlier this month.
Legislative leaders say they intend to uphold a compromise lawmakers reached with backers of the Count My Vote initiative last year. In exchange for getting an alternative path to the ballot, initiative supporters ended a statewide petition drive that was expected to put a referendum calling for a direct primary election before voters last November.
— Dennis Romboy
