Utahns get to decide on seven constitutional amendments during the 2020 election. Here is a breakdown of each result as of 6 p.m. Wednesday.
Amendment A: Gender-neutral language
At the time of writing this article, 58% of Utahns passed the proposed amendment that would change the use of language in the state’s constitution from “men” to “persons” and “wife” to spouse.
Amendment B: Utah legislator qualifications
The amendment to certify when a legislator becomes of age to be qualified to run for state office had 80% of the population voting “FOR” at the time of writing this article. Previous language in the state constitution was not clear whether a candidate must be 25 years of age before election day or before they take office. The amendment clarifies this distinction by requiring candidates to be 25 years old before they are elected.
Amendment C: Slavery as a punishment for crime
The current Utah Constitution allows slavery to be a punishment for a crime. 81% of state residents had voted “FOR” the amendment Tuesday night to remove the language from the constitution and outlaws slavery, at the time of writing this article.
Amendment D: Municipal water uses
Amendment D would provide cities and counties in the state the ability to provide water to those outside of its provinces. Municipalities are currently selling water outside of their boundaries, despite the muddled language in Utah’s state constitution. At the time of writing this article, 61% of Utah residents had voted “FOR” this amendment.
Amendment E: Right to hunt and fish
Constitutional Amendment E would add language to the state constitution, establishing the individual right of Utahns to hunt and fish. The amendment would also establish public hunting and fishing as the preferred way of managing and controlling wildlife. 74% of state residents voted to pass the amendment Tuesday night at the time of writing this article.
Amendment F: Legislative session start date
The current iteration of the Utah Constitution requires each annual general session of the legislature to start on the fourth Monday in January, as well as an annual general session cannot exceed 45 calendar days, excluding holidays. The proposed amendment would change the start day of the annual general sessions from the fourth Monday to a day in January designated by the Utah legislature. At the time of writing this article, 67% of voters voted “FOR” the amendment.
Amendment G: Expanding the use of Utah’s General Education Fund
The current language of the Utah Constitution uses the money received from income taxes or taxes on intangible property to support public education and higher education. The state taxes income but not intangible property (which includes stocks, bonds, patents and copyrights). The amendment would expand the use of the money the state receives from income taxes or intangible property tax to also include supporting children and people with disabilities. 54% of state residents voted to pass the amendment at the time of writing this article.
For the one about slavery, the ballot made it semantically and syntactically read like if you vote ‘for’ you’re asking for no more slavery even in the prison system, I thought.
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