SALT LAKE CITY— Utah GOP leaders agreed Wednesday to continue working on a plan to set new requirements for Republican candidates amid the party's ongoing lawsuit over legislative changes to the nomination process.

After nearly two hours of discussion about a proposal from state GOP Chairman James Evans, members of the state Republican Party Executive Committee were polled by secret ballot about how the party should proceed.

The results were not announced, but Evans said after the meeting the members want to go forward with requiring Republican candidates to sign a statement about their adherence to the party platform as well as submit to an interview.

But he said they rejected his suggestion that GOP candidates pay a fee, as well as a push from a former state lawmaker, Chris Herrod, that Republican candidates who choose the state's new alternate path to the ballot lose their party membership.

And Evans said they were split over whether Republican candidates choosing the path of signature gathering for a spot on the primary ballot would sill have to be supported by a certain percentage of delegates at the party's convention.

Evans said the advisory group's endorsement of his idea of creating membership requirements for GOP candidates was "a qualified yes. We're saying, we need to make sure we're being balanced in how we approach that."

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He said the results of the 1 ½-page ballot will be used to draft a recommendation for the party's State Central Committee, set to meet May 30. Whatever action that group takes must be approved at the party's annual convention on Aug. 15.

Utah Republican National Committeeman Bruce Hough warned the party leaders to be cautious about what changes they make in response to SB54, passed by the GOP-dominated Legislature and signed by GOP Gov. Gary Herbert in 2013.

"We're not winning the public relations war in this right now," Hough said. "We have to be careful. Because it's the voter we have to respect in the process."

But Herrod said the party needs to take action to strengthen its legal case against SB54, which allows candidates to bypass the current caucus and convention system parties use to select nominees by gathering voter signatures.

"This group doesn't understand the convention system is over with this," Herrod said. "We have to decide whether we're going to go all out" to protect the system that allows candidates with enough support to be nominated by party delegates.

He agreed with a suggestion by another former state lawmaker, Ken Sumsion, that the party should only allow federal candidates to run as Republicans and "sit out on state elections" to put pressure on the Legislature to change the law quickly.

That idea was not listed on the secret ballot.

The meeting came after the party lost its bid in federal court for a preliminary injunction against SB54, passed as a compromise with backers of the Count My Vote initiative that would have replaced the current system with a direct primary.

The law takes effect for the 2016 elections.

Evans told the group that the judge gave him the idea for creating candidate requirements during the hearing by talking about the party's ability to control its membership.

He said he believes the party can "compel" a relationship with all candidates who want to run as Republicans.

Earlier Wednesday, Count My Vote's Rich McKeown told KSL Newsradio's Doug Wright that some Republicans are trying to hold onto their power by looking for a way for a few party members to continue to make decisions for others.

McKeown said the new proposal from party leaders "to penalize non-conforming behavior" among candidates "just doesn't seem like the American way of broadening the vote."

The Utah lieutenant governor's office, which oversees elections, is still waiting to see exactly what's in the new GOP plan.

"It's not clear what they're doing or what they're trying to accomplish," state Elections Director Mark Thomas said. "Generally speaking, we don't have any regulation over the membership."

But that may be different if the state's dominant political party is seen as attempting to make it more difficult for Republican candidates to bypass the caucus and convention system.

"Where it gets a little tricky and we get some questions is about candidates," Thomas said.

Utah Democratic Party Chairman Peter Corroon said there would not be any "ideological litmus tests" or fees for Democratic candidates. Nor, he said, would it left up to only "a select few" choose who runs as a Democrat.

"We are an open party, and while our members may disagree on issues, we recognize this diversity of opinion is healthy for our party and is crucial to the promotion of good ideas," Corroon said.

He said the Utah Republican Party "is so concerned with the details of what makes someone a Republican, they’ve forgotten what’s most important: the voice of the people in selecting their representatives."

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