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Show Newphoria 2014 CUCCU CENTER X XXX. X X x X X x X xx X X XX X XX X X XXX XXX XX% X x X XX XXXXX X X X X X %XXX% X X XXX X X X X X X X X %XXXII X X X X X X X X X XXX X it X X X X 3IL X X XXX XXXXX Wrestling wrap-up Utah Valley University//uvureview.com UVU REVIEW JANUARY 6, 2014 LV.XV THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT VOICE Utah 18th state to allow same sex marriage Over the holidays, a U.S. District judge struck down an amendment that banned gay marriage, resulting in mixed reactions statewide By KresLynn Knouse Assistant News Editor @KresLynn Utah 18th state to allow same-sex marriage Many were shocked on December 20th when a U.S. District judge ruled that a Utah amendment banning gay marriage was unconstitutional. Governor Gary Herbert deemed the effects of the ruling a SAME SEX A3 David Richard Keller 12/17/62 - 12/28/13 teejOgria The vote for the vote Debate rages on over how Utah should select candidates By Nicole Shepard News Editor @NicoleEShepard Utah is looking at a possible change in election process that is over 100 years old. Count My Vote is a campaign to change Utah's use of caucuses in place of primaries. Their claim is that the current system is exclusionary and archaic. For most of its history, Utah has used a convention-primary system to nominate candidate for elected office. In the spring of election years, Utahans in small caucus meetings, held throughout the state, select delegates to represent their community in state and county conventions. Those conventions are then used to nominate candidates for political office. Count My Vote's website claims that because caucus meetings are held on one night every two years there is not enough flexibility, which limits those who can vote making the decisions made not wholly based on the voice of the people. "It's reminiscent of the old days where only rich white land owners were allowed to vote," Michael Davidson, Count My Vote Supporter said. "If you can't go to the one meeting to select these delegates who are supposed to vote for you, you have no say, no voice." Keep Our Caucus is a group that has formed in favor of keeping Utah's election process the same, arguing that Utah has a strong history of positive governance, which is unparalleled in the rest of the United States. Their claim is that Utah's strong leadership, as dictated by the caucus system has lead to the successes we see today. "Utah has one of the strongest economy's in the nation," Bill Bagely, Keep Our Caucus supporter, said. "It's no accident that we are in the stable place we are today because of how we've chosen to run our government." Utah is one of seven states that still use caucuses and one of five that exclusively use them (Utah, Conn., N. Dak., Colo. and N. Mex.). Keep Our Caucus in partnership with similar protective movements such as Protect the Neighborhood Vote argue that a primary based on popular vote would disintegrate the quality of elected officials. "Caucuses allow for the public to personally meet with potential candidates," Dirk Mason, Protect the Neighborhood Vote supporter said. "Without that candidates will be further distanced from the electorate making it harder and harder to maintain the public voice." The debate between the two groups is heated and often unfriendly. Count My Vote contacted UVUSA for permission to come on campus to inform students of their arguments and give them the opportunity to sign the petition. The petition, which requires 120,000 signatures by April, will allow the change to the election process be up for a general vote. Keep Our Caucus doesn't want the movement on the ballot at all. UVUSA invited Count My Vote to come to campus on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, because of this choice Keep Our Caucus sees UVU as a supporter of Count My Vote. "UVUSA's idea is to allow education to happen on campus," Jono Andrews, UVU student body president, said. "Because of this VOTE A3 see A4 |
