The process for citizens to put an initiative to vote is onerous. It involves an application, certification, a fiscal impact statement, public hearings, petition packets and then the monster of all projects: legal signatures by what represents 10 percent of the voting public, spread throughout counties across the state. It is not easy or inexpensive to engage citizens and is funded by donations. Those who successfully do so, engaging over 100,000 voters, should be commended for their commitment to democracy.
I don’t understand how, when these obstacles are overcome, and signatures are validated, opposing groups like “Keep My Voice,” Utah Medical Association or Eagle Forum can step in, access those hard-won signatures and start a counter-campaign.