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SALT LAKE CITY — The lieutenant governor ruled Tuesday that the Count My Vote initiative has failed to gather enough signatures after almost 3,000 names were removed from petitions submitted in April.
Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox also announced that another contentious initiative — this one dealing with medical marijuana — has been certified to appear on November's ballot. Opponents of both issues have filed lawsuits in an effort to keep them from being certified for the ballot.
Two other initiative efforts were certified as having enough valid signatures to appear on the November ballot: expanding Medicaid coverage and creating an independent redistricting commission.
To qualify for the ballot, an initiative must have more than 113,000 voter signatures — 10 percent of votes cast for president in the most recent election — that meet specific thresholds in at least 26 of Utah's 29 state Senate districts.
Initiative organizers had until April 15 to gather signatures. Voters then had another month to change their minds and fill out a signature removal form. Opponents of both the medical marijuana and Count My Vote initiatives circulated those forms in targeted areas of the state.
According to a news release from Cox, the initiative for a direct primary election, backed by Count My Vote supporters who want to strengthen SB54, contained 131,984 valid signatures but met thresholds in just 23 of 29 districts. His office found 2,951 valid removal requests.
The Medical Cannabis Act had 153,894 valid signatures in 27 of Utah's 29 Senate districts. Efforts to remove signatures netted 1,425 people rescinding their support.
The Utah Decides Healthcare Act of 2018, an effort to expand Medicaid, had 147,280 signatures in 26 of 29 districts. Four people filed for removal from petitions.
A drive to set up an independent redistricting commission had 150,082 approved signatures in 26 districts. No signatures were removed.
