Utah voters approve Prop. 5 by 60-40 margin

From now on, it will be more difficult for Utah residents to change state laws that govern hunting or fishing.

Utah voters approved Proposition 5 by a 60-40 margin in statewide balloting Tuesday.The measure, placed on the ballot by the Legislature, amends the state constitution to require a two-thirds majority vote for the passage of any citizen initiative dealing with wildlife issues.

A citizen initiative concerning any other issue can still be passed with a simple majority vote.

Proposition 5 was one of six statewide measures on the ballot Tuesday. Voters approved all six, based on complete but unofficial election results.

Proposition 5 was a response by state lawmakers and Utah's sportsmen's lobby to a perceived threat from out-of-state animal-rights "extremists."

Supporters of Proposition 5 feared East Coast organizations, such as the Humane Society of the United States, might soon orchestrate a petition drive to place on the Utah ballot a measure changing certain state wildlife regulations. Similar efforts have resulted in successful ballot initiatives in other Western states. Cougar hunting, for example, was banned in California in 1990.

Proposition 5 now raises the bar for the passage of such initiatives from a 50-percent-plus-one majority to more than 67 percent.

Members of Utahns for Wildlife Heritage and Conservation, the organization formed specifically to push for Proposition 5, said Utah's wildlife policies and practices now have more protection from outside intervention.

"I don't think anything is ever totally safe, it'd be foolish to think that, but hopefully they're safe for the near future," said Byron Bateman, the group's campaign chairman. "The people of Utah showed how much they really care about Utah wildlife and wild places in Utah and that's what it was all about."

Opponents called Proposition 5 an affront to the democratic process, saying it gives an unfair advantage to one group by making their individual votes count for more. They warned that if Proposition 5 succeeded, similar attempts could be made to require two-thirds majority votes for initiatives dealing with other issues like taxes, transportation and education.

Craig Axford, campaign coordinator for the Utah Voting Rights Coalition, the anti-Proposition 5 group, called the relatively close vote a "moral victory."

"There was a lot of misleading and false advertising on the other side," Axford said. "It's clear that the public definitely has mixed feelings about changing the ballot initiatives laws."