So the lawsuit is intended to clarify exactly what people are voting on — which could be merely the funding appropriation and a handful of other sections that are not in HB174.

"It's a huge disservice to Utah voters to not have clarification on what they are voting on," said Doug Holmes, chairman of Parents for Choice in Education. "This seems the most expedient way to get that clarity."

However, there is some confusion among the petitioners in regard to the ultimate goal of the lawsuit. Bramble said in no way is the group attempting to stand in the way of a vote in November. But Urquhart, an attorney, said that one sidelight of the lawsuit _ but not the main goal of the suit _ is that the Utah Supreme Court could call off the Nov. 6 vote.

Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, who is defending the Lieutenant Governor's Office, said he will have a response by Tuesday and will also explore whether the group can legally challenge the ballot title.

Meanwhile, until the Utah Board of Education gets some specific answers on implementing what they call a fragmented bill, board members are not going to create a voucher program, a fact that has irked voucher supporters.

The three-paragraph statement from the governor and legislative leadership spells out that there won't be a special session of the Legislature to deal with the issue raised by the fact that the referendum would repeal just one of the two voucher bills passed earlier this year.

Huntsman, speaking on his monthly news conference broadcast on KUED Channel 7, said the joint statement was being drafted to make it clear "that whatever the vote is in November will be respected as a vote up or down on vouchers."

Valentine said that may not be the case. "It's not a clear up or down vote," the Senate president said. "I'm not going to just say I'll interpret the vote to mean something different than it does."

And unless a court comes up with a different opinion as a result of Thursday's lawsuit, Valentine said the outcome of the election he'll respect is that the state still has a voucher law in place. "I've got to follow the rule of law," Valentine said.

Curtis wouldn't elaborate on the statement, but said his position has not changed since he told his GOP caucus a week ago that he would listen to his own House district constituents and follow their lead as reflected in the Nov. 6 vote.

The governor, who spoke to reporters before the statement was issued, said it was a better solution than calling lawmakers into special session to address the question of what impact the vote will have on the voucher program.

Huntsman said there wasn't the "political will" to deal with the issue in a special session, but he was confident lawmakers would live up to their pledge with "no gimmicks, no trickery, nothing that would live on beyond the vote other than basic respect for the outcome."

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Contributing: Bob Bernick Jr.

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E-mail: lisa@desnews.com; terickson@desnews.com