Utahns fail quiz on own legislators

Want to know how tough it is for legislative candidates in Utah to attract voters' attention?

Two-thirds of Utahns don't know who their state House and Senate members are.

Only a third of Utahns say their "unknown" legislators should be re-elected, while another third say someone new should take their legislator's place.

And two-thirds of Utahns won't be going to any political party neighborhood caucuses Tuesday night, where party delegates will be picked to vote on legislative races later this year in party conventions.

Those are just some of the results in a new Deseret Morning News/KSL-TV poll conducted by Dan Jones & Associates.

Tuesday night across Utah thousands of citizens will be heading to their neighborhood schools or to neighbors' houses to participate in 7 p.m. party caucuses, the old "mass meetings" where Republicans, Democrats and people in third parties gather to elect county and state party delegates.

In April's county conventions and May's state conventions, candidates will be voted on by those loyalists and party platforms will be adopted.

Candidates who don't get super-majorities in their conventions — thus winning their party's nominations outright — will face each other in party primary elections in late June. The winners will go on to the November general election ballot.

But while Utah's official 2006 election cycle begins Tuesday, most Utahns will not be paying much attention.

Jones found that only 19 percent of Utahns will "very likely" go to their party caucuses Tuesday. Seventeen percent said they are "somewhat likely" to attend.

But a large 63 percent said they are not very likely or definitely are not going to their party caucuses.

Only 36 percent told Jones they are "very interested" in this year's elections, which include races for U.S. Senate and House, county and school board offices and legislative contests. There are no elections in 2006 for U.S. president, governor, attorney general and other statewide offices in Utah.

You can find where your local party caucus will be held by going to party Web sites: Republicans at www.utgop.org, and Democrats at www.utdemocrats.org.

Other party Web sites are: Constitutional Party, www.cputah.org; Desert Greens, www.gput.org; Green Party, www.utahgreenparty.org; Libertarian Party, www.lputah.org; and Personal Choice Party, www.personalchoice.org.