Utah Supreme Court to Decide Prop. 4 Repeal Deadline

On Friday afternoon, the Utah Supreme Court denied an emergency request from the organizers of Utah's Prop. 4 repeal campaign to extend the deadline for submitting signatures.

Utahns for Representative Government (UFRG) filed the emergency request on Wednesday, citing a sustained campaign of violence, intimidation and harassment directed at signature gatherers. They asked the court to extend the deadline from Feb. 15 to Feb. 18—or a two-day extension in Salt Lake, Davis, Utah, Washington, Summit and Weber counties, where they alleged the worst problems occurred.

UFRG said roughly 300 signatures were stolen or destroyed, and at least 50 petition circulators quit because of threats and harassment.

Additionally, UFRG argued state law is ambiguous about what happens when the Feb. 15 signature deadline falls on a Sunday. The group says the deadline should move to the following business day, which in this case would be Feb. 17, since Monday is Presidents's Day.

In an opinion issued Friday afternoon, the court said UFRG waited too long for emergency relief because the alleged harassment occurred in January and the petition wasn’t filed until this week.

"While we strongly condemn the threats and violence described in the petition, we conclude, for several reasons, that UFRG has not shown entitlement to the relief it seeks," the opinion from Chief Justice Matthew Durant said.

Justices also said the request was too fact-heavy to rush. They didn’t question that some gatherers walked away, but noted UFRG offered no declarations from those workers and leaned on hearsay.

They also pointed to a statement from Rob Axson, one of the organizers, earlier this week that UFRG has "not actually struggled to gain signatures" for the initiative, which raises factual questions that the court couldn't resolve given the short timeframe.

Earlier this week, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson urged the court to deny any extension, arguing organizers waited too long. Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman also urged the court to deny the petition, noting that UFRG is still tens of thousands of signatures short of the required number to qualify for November’s ballot. She argued that there’s little evidence to support UFRG’s contention of a “coordinated” campaign of violence against signature gatherers, and a three-day extension is disproportionate to the alleged loss of 300 signatures.

With the denial, the deadline for submitting signatures remains Sunday.