Deseret News | A few suggested changes to the Utah Constitution

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Pignanelli and Webb: A few suggested changes to the Utah Constitution

MIke Ridgway | 1:45 a.m. July 19, 2009

All this talk of the likely appointees for Lieutenant Governor have me depressed. Well did LDS President Gordon B. Hinckley remind us in a speech to the Provo Freedom Festival in 1997 that there is a dearth of competent and ethical statesmen in our country. That dearth is acutely felt here in Utah.

uncannygunman | 10:21 a.m. July 19, 2009

I appreciate that this column is tongue-in-cheek, but there are real changes that could be made to our constitution that would improve it considerably. I'd start with:

- Adding a right to privacy

- Mandating non-partisan voter redistricting

- Raising the amendment threshold to 60% or even 2/3 of voters, and/or requiring ratification in two consecutive elections, to protect the constitution from temporary whims of the majority (e.g., California generally and Amendment 3 locally)

- Strengthening the guarantee of equal rights by repealing the incompatible Amendment 3

To Uncannygunman | 5:02 p.m. July 19, 2009

There is no such thing as "non-partisan voter redistricting," especially if this is meant to mean non-political.

Comments continue below

Joe Moe | 9:03 a.m. July 20, 2009

@5:02

I think he means, don't have the legislature do it, hand it off to an independent and insulated commission, like many states already do. It will not happen in the foreseeable future here, because, obviously, Republicans in the legislature would have to give up power, and why would they do that?

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