Over the past decade or so, the Legislature has changed Utah's citizen initiative process — basically making it more difficult for unhappy citizens to gather the required signatures of voters needed to get an initiative on the ballot.

The Utah Supreme Court ruled that lawmakers didn't violate the Constitution when they required a certain percent of signatures coming from a set number of Senate districts, instead of the old requirement which allowed more signatures from more populous counties. However, in that decision, the justices warned that legislators had to be careful about making it substantially harder for citizens to redress concerns ignored by the Legislature.

Some GOP leaders have already complained that when the Legislature changed the initiative law, it also failed to change the referendum law in the same manner.

Thus, a year ago those against vouchers (mostly professional educators and public school supporters) were able to more easily collect signatures on their anti-voucher law referendum than would be possible under current initiative law.

(Initiatives adopt new laws or amend existing laws. Referendums are just an up or down citizen vote on a law that is already passed, keeping or repealing it.)

Thus, some anti-voucher advocates worried last year that Utah legislators, angry over their voucher defeat, may try to change the referendum law like they have already done for the initiative law.

The referendum process is so hard that Utah Democratic Party leaders were stunned voucher opponents were able to secure enough signatures in time to make the ballot.

"What they performed is nothing less than a miracle," said Todd Taylor, executive director of the Utah Democratic Party.

"The referendum process is far too difficult in the state of Utah. It's the arrogance of power — they think it should all reside in the Legislature."

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