SALT LAKE CITY – The Libertarian Party of Utah is asking for help from Utahns who desire liberty-friendly choices on their 2008 general election ballot.

Many Utahns may not know that the LPUtah lost is ballot status in the 2006 general election because no Libertarian candidate received more than two percent of the vote cast in all three congressional races – about 11,400 votes.

The LPUtah needs 2,000 petition signatures by registered voters to re-qualify as a registered political party.

Last month the LPUtah submitted 2,170 petition signatures to the State Elections Office, which deemed nearly one-third of the signatures invalid. The deadline to submit petition signatures to the State Elections Office is February 15, 2008.

SALT LAKE CITY – By a vote of its membership, the Libertarian Organizing Committee is encouraging Libertarians and liberty-minded Utahns to vote for Citizen’s State Referendum Number 1.

"On balance, voter approval of education scholarships through Referendum 1 will improve educational outcomes for children compelled to participate in taxpayer-funded, constitutionally-mandated government education systems in Utah," says Rob Latham, chairman of the Libertarian Organizing Committee.

But will Becker, Buhler surprise?

SALT LAKE CITY – With one month to go before the primary election, candidates Jenny Wilson and Keith Christensen are leading an online demonstration election for Mayor of Salt Lake City.

Using the same ranked choice voting method implemented in San Francisco’s municipal elections in 2005, voters can choose a majority winner in one election, not two.

Ranking choice voting permits citizens to vote for their favorite candidates in their order of preference, without worrying about electing their least favorite candidate.

Single-digit turnouts common for student body elections in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY – The Libertarian Party of Utah announced that -- for the second straight year -- no applicant claimed the $1,000 prize offered for the general scholarship fund of any Utah college or university by this year's April 20, 2007 deadline.

The prize was part of the LPUtah's second annual Fair Representation Challenge. Rob Latham, the LPUtah's Chairman, will ask his party's executive committee to authorize the award next year.

"The processes used to elect members to the student body governments at Utah colleges and universities present a great opportunity for students to explore more competitive and representative electoral systems," says Latham. "I will continue to encourage that exploration."

Many student governments at American colleges and universities, such as the Graduate and Professional Student Senate at the University of Washington (DOC file, The Elections Meeting) and the Student Association at Rice University (PDF file, By-Law E: Elections, Article E-1, Section 2 (g)(ii) and Section 4), have adopted ranked-choice voting to foster broader student participation and representation in student government.

Last October, the LPUtah notified student body government representatives at each eligible Utah college and university of the Fair Representation Challege by email. Announcements were also sent to the student newspaper of each Utah institution accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities.

As in 2006, voter turnout for Utah college and university student body elections remained low in 2007.

• Only 1,079 of an estimated 60,000 students enrolled at Salt Lake Community College voted in this year's Student Life and Leadership elections, down from 1,100 last year.
  

SALT LAKE CITY – Utahns filing state income tax forms can express their displeasure with the two-party system in a way that few Americans can ... by making a tax-deductible donation to the Libertarian Party.

“Given that most registered voters choose not to affiliate with either incumbent political party, elected politicians forfeit any legitimate claim to the 'consent of the governed' or the 'will of the people' by excluding the voices of a significant number of Utahns with their ‘bipartisan’ schemes and rigged elections,” says Rob Latham, Chairman of the Libertarian Organizing Committee.

Latham encourages independent voters and taxpayers to return the disfavor to Utah’s political class by writing an “L” in section 3 of Form TC-40 (PDF file).

SALT LAKE CITY -- Who will be Salt Lake City's next mayor? The Libertarian Organizing Committee's chairman Rob Latham announced the launch of an online demonstration election to illustrate how voters might narrow the field of ten announced candidates for the mayor of Utah's capital city down to one majority winner -- in just one election.

Voters can "Mock the Vote" for the 2007 Salt Lake City mayoral race by clicking here.

The demonstration election launched and administered by local Libertarians uses the ranked-choice voting method, which allows voters to indicate their preferences among several candidates instead of being limited to choosing just one.

"Ranked-choice voting has a track record of promoting positive campaigns and saving election administrators, participants, and taxpayers the significant costs associated with a separate primary election," says Latham.

State of Utah’s single member district electoral scheme yields greatest representational disparity since decennial redistricting

SALT LAKE CITY – The Libertarian Organizing Committee released its post-general election analysis comparing the partisan allocation of seats in the State of Utah’s Senate and House of Representatives.

In all contested races for the Utah House of Representatives, Democrats received three fewer seats under the winner-take-all, single member district system than had the seats been allocated proportionally per the number of votes received, according to an analysis of data from the State Elections Office performed by Rob Latham, chairman of the Libertarian Organizing Committee.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Despite the unethical bipartisan bigotry practiced by some local news outlets and journalists, the Libertarian message reached many Utahns in 2006.

For the benefit of Utah liberty-lovers, their friends and supporters, the list below highlights some of the news coverage that included Libertarian candidates, members, registered voters, and the Libertarian Party of Utah during the 2006 election season.*

March 2006

• Bob Bernick Jr. and Josh Loftin, Campaign season opens in Utah, Deseret Morning News, March 7, 2006

SALT LAKE CITY – In the wake of the 2006 midterm election, the Libertarian Organizing Committee is releasing the following analysis of data from the State of Utah Elections Office related to the historical performance of Libertarian candidates.

In the 2006 midterm election, Utah voters cast 41,622 votes among 14 Libertarian candidates. Among all 14 Libertarian candidates, the average percentage of votes received was 5.25 percent. And more than half of all 14 Libertarian candidates received more than 2.99 percent of the vote.

The Libertarian candidate in Utah receiving the highest percentage of the vote was Iron County Sheriff candidate John Martineau, with 15.35 percent of the vote. Martineau was less than 200 votes and two percentage points behind the Democratic candidate.

“Kudos to John for running a strong campaign and congratulations on a remarkable election result for a non-incumbent party candidate in a three-way race,” said Libertarian Organizing Committee chairman Rob Latham.

SALT LAKE CITY -- In Utah, all ballot-qualified political parties can nominate candidates for partisan office. But thanks to the single-member district plurality system used to decide most political contests, some candidates are more equal than others.

To promote its state and local candidates, while bringing attention to the disparities between incumbent political parties and non-incumbent political parties, the Libertarian Party of Utah reprised the cast of caricatures featured in its full-page advertisement in the 2006 Football Preview in a new ad for the 2006 Utah Election Guide published October 25, 2006 by the Newspaper Agency Corporation.

According to mid-2006 voter registration data compiled by Ballot Access News, most Utah voters aren't registered with either of the two incumbent parties (900,784 are unaffiliated, 376,096 are registered Republican, and 117,958 are registered Democrat).

Several Utah Libertarian candidates are advocating for the adoption of more competitive and representative electoral systems in their campaigns.