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SALT LAKE CITY — The Senate voted down Thursday a proposed state constitutional amendment giving political parties the right to decide how candidates appear on the general election ballot.
Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, sponsored SJR2 to counter a compromise lawmakers reached last year with the Count My Vote initiative. In exchange for getting an alternative path to the ballot, initiative supporters dropped a statewide petition drive for a referendum calling for a direct primary.
The resolution would have let voters decide whether to keep the state's caucus and convention system that allows candidates with enough support from party delegates to be nominated without a primary election.
"I want to give the people their voice on this," Jenkins said.
Sen. Curt Bramble, R-Provo, said the amendment would sanction with public dollars a constitutional right for a party to trump individual liberty. "That seems to be a bridge way too far," he said.
Political parties are private organizations but they receive tax money to hold primary elections.
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