"It would take us back to before Brown v. Board of Education, and we'd see more segregation in schools than not," Williams said, adding that those families who could afford to send their children to private schools would most likely be white and minorities would once again be left where they can afford to be educated — in public schools.

Others who added their signatures to the application for a referendum include Utah State Board of Education President Kim Burningham, former state representative Lamont Tyler and Utah PTA President Carmen Snow.

Utah State Code states that anyone can file an application to counter laws made during the general session of the Legislature, but the declaration must be made in writing within five days of the end of the session. Following the 40 days allotted for gathering signatures — which must come from at least 10 percent of the votes cast for governor in the previous election and be representative at least 15 counties — Herbert's office has 15 days to verify the signatures and then five days to declare whether they are sufficient to warrant a referendum on the ballot.

Joe Demma, Herbert's spokesman, said the governor can do one of two things: place the referendum on the ballot for the next general election, which is in November 2008, or call a special election. Most likely, he said, it would be voted on next year because a special election would cost the state $3.5 million.

"It's a rich voucher program, one of the richest in the country, and it's in a state that has the lowest per-pupil spending," Rusk said. "And across the board, the program doesn't do what it promises to do. It's an issue that we should be able to vote on."

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E-mail: wleonard@desnews.com