... "representative," that is.

Many Americans celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day to commemorate the slain civil rights leader's efforts to foster a more inclusive society.

But as we compare a portrait of Utah's diversity to the composition of and competition for seats in the Utah Legislature, it's easy to see that as the members of Utah's political class invoke Dr. King's name, they continue to betray his dream.

Consider the following facts:

*Half of Utahns are female; the Utah Legislature is 80 percent male

*Eleven percent of Utahns are not white; the Utah Legislature is 96 percent white

*About 38 percent of Utahns are not members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; the Utah Legislature's current membership is approximately 80 percent LDS

*In 2004, Utah Democrats received two fewer seats in contested races for the Utah House of Representatives under the winner-take-all, single member district electoral system than had the seats been allocated proportionally according to votes received.

*Similarly, in 2004, Utah Democrats received three fewer seats in contested races for the Utah State Senate under the winner-take-all, single member district electoral system than had the seats been allocated proportionally according to votes received.

*Also in 2004, Utah Democrats did not contest 27 out of 75 (36%) races for the Utah House of Representatives. Utah Republicans did not contest 3 out of 75 (4%) races for the Utah House of Representatives.

There is nothing more dangerous than to build a society, with a large segment of people in that society who feel that they have no stake in it, who feel that they have nothing to lose. People who have a stake in their society protect that society, but when they don't have it, they unconsciously want to destroy it.

--Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

To avoid the destruction of its newly-created democracy, last year at the behest of the United States government most Iraqis participated in multi-party elections using the proportional representation system, which is widely viewed as the most efficient way to create a closer fit between voter preferences and electoral outcomes.

Because increasing the diversity of stakeholders leads to more informed collective decisionmaking, Libertarians have demanded action from Utah's political class to remedy the disproportionate election results caused by the antiquated winner-take-all electoral system used at the municipal, county, and state levels in Utah. To further spur action at the Utah Legislature, I issued the "Fair Representation Challenge" to Utah's incumbent political parties. To date, no Utah legislator has taken any action on this issue.

However, as an example of what can happen when incumbents realize how a rigged electoral system undermines their authority and legitmacy, in California a bipartisan duo will introduce a bill creating a "Citizens Assembly" to study and propose a new electoral system for the state.

A citizens assembly in British Columbia has produced several excellent animations illustrating how the proportional representation electoral system works (Flash Player required).

Please inform your legislator that you favor the creation of a citizens assembly in Utah to improve elections in Utah. Please also join the FairVoteUtah group if you are interested in working for more representative elections in Utah.

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As you begin to prepare your Utah income tax return for 2005, please remember to write an "L" in section 3 of Form TC-40 (PDF file). This does not change your refund or the amount of tax due. The Libertarian Party of Utah receives two dollars for every "L" entered, and these contributions are a major source of our funding.

Even if you are sympathetic to some of our like-minded friends in the Personal Choice Party, every dollar intentionally or mistakenly directed to the election campaign fund of that party is kept by the State of Utah -- the very entity working to take away your personal choices.

Therefore, if you genuinely want to support individual liberty for Utahns, please direct your contribution to the election campaign fund on your Utah Individual Income Tax Return to the Libertarian Party of Utah.

With sincere appreciation, I am

Yours in liberty,

Rob Latham, Chair

Libertarian Party of Utah