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SALT LAKE CITY — A legal fight tied to Utah's new state flag may not be over just yet even after a group suing the state motioned to drop the lawsuit on Wednesday.
Lawyers for Utah resident Tracie Halvorsen and Are You Listening Yet PAC filed a notice to voluntarily dismiss a lawsuit they had filed in U.S. District Court against the state tied to their initiative to overturn the state's new flag law. It comes two days after a federal judge ruled against the group's preliminary injunction.
However, Halvorsen told KSL.com on Thursday the group is now considering refining its legal argument and moving the case to the Utah court system.
"We voluntarily withdrew our complaint because we believe further proceedings should be in state court focusing on the Utah Constitution," she said in a statement. "We currently are in discussions of what the next steps are in moving forward with the case."
A representative for Are You Listening Yet on Monday said the group was "definitely hoping for a different decision" from Judge Jill Parrish after she denied the preliminary injunction.
Parrish wrote in her 33-page ruling that plaintiffs were "unlikely to prevail" in their case, adding that the court had jurisdiction in seven of the 10 claims made against the state but the group was "not likely to succeed" in all seven.
The lawsuit accused the state of taking multiple steps that made it difficult for the group to gather signatures to put an initiative to reverse last year's SB31 on the November ballot. SB31 designated a new state flag design, while making the state's previous design the new "historical flag."
It also claimed the state's Feb. 15, signature deadline was "unconstitutional." The groups asked for an injunction at the same time they filed their lawsuit, which would have extended the deadline to July 8.
The group ultimately collected 81,992 valid signatures, while more than 17,000 were either determined to be invalid or were unverified by the deadline. It needed 134,298 signatures from registered Utah voters, including a certain percentage of signatures from 26 of the state's 29 Senate districts to qualify for the ballot.
State officials argued extending the deadline would impose a burden on the county clerks who verify signatures and would "harm the public interest by shifting election deadlines." Parrish ultimately agreed in Monday's ruling.
SB31 went into law on Saturday, Utah's Flag Day.
Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton, the bill's sponsor, reacted to Parrish's ruling on Monday to highlight how the state amended the law to accommodate those who didn't want a new flag. He posted a photo on X showing Utah's new flag flying in front of the Capitol's south entrance and the historical flag flying above its east wing.
"I commend the Are You Listening Yet group for their commitment to their cause," he wrote, in part. "I've heard their concerns and am committed to making sure the historic flag continues to be honored in Utah."
