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SALT LAKE CITY — The prolonged, bitter battle over Utah's controversial candidate nomination law appears to be over, at least as far as the courts are concerned.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the Utah Republican Party's appeal of the lower court ruling upholding the 2014 law passed as SB54. The decision, as is typical, came without explanation.
The Utah Attorney General's Office argued that there was no reason for the high court to take the case because lower courts are not split over whether states may prescribe party nominations by primary election.
The Utah GOP sued the state over the law, which allows candidates to bypass Utah's traditional caucus and convention system by gathering signatures to get on the primary election ballot. The party contends the law threatens the First Amendment rights of not only political parties but other organizations, including religious institutions.
A federal judge upheld the law but the party appealed.
The Utah GOP went to the Supreme Court after the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver found that the law "strikes an appropriate balance" between protecting the interests of the state in managing elections and allowing the party and individuals to express their preferences in a democratic fashion and to form associations protected by the First Amendment.
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, were among several politicians and organizations who urged the U.S. Supreme Court to hear the case and overturn the law.
Republican Gov. Gary Herbert had urged the party to drop the case.
The Utah GOP ran up hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees defending the case. Dave Bateman, CEO of the Lehi-based high-tech company Entrata, stepped up to cover the court costs and keep the lawsuit alive.
Bateman's Keep My Voice group also derailed the Count My Vote ballot initiative last year that would have asked voters to strengthen the existing law.
In 2014, Count My Vote circulated another initiative that would have established a direct primary in Utah, taking away the power of political parties to nominate candidates to a ballot. The current law was a compromise between initiative supporters and state lawmakers.
Legislators over the years have drafted bills to repeal SB54, including this year. Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, decided not not introduce legislation this year while waiting to see if the Supreme Court would take the case.
