On March 11, U.S. District Court Judge Jill Parrish, an Obama appointee, refused to enjoin various Utah laws that make it difficult to put statewide initiatives on the ballot. Are you Listening Yet PAC v Henderson, 2:24cv-104. The group that filed the lawsuit complained about the February 15 deadline for initiative petitions in election years; the law banning all forms of payment to circulators except an hourly wage; the law that says only two signatures can fit on a petition sheet; and various other impediments. The plaintiffs had also complained about the ban on out-of-state circulators, but that ban was repealed earlier this year.

The judge seemed influenced by the fact that the plaintiffs had begun their petition drive in May 2023, but didn’t file the lawsuit until January 2024.

The plaintiffs dismissed the lawsuit on March 13, and will try again in state court, using the State Constitutional provisions that protect the initiative. Here is the U.S. District Court decision.