Open Letter From Our Friends At Utahns For Ethical Government

COURT RULES: UEG NEEDS YOUR HELP

Last week, Judge Todd Shaughnessy of Utah's Third District Court ruled that UEG had one year in which to gather initiative signatures (a win for us), while also ruling that e-signatures were not valid for initiative purposes (a win for the State). The judge held a status conference with both sides last Friday, and both we and the State will appeal the decision to the Utah Supreme Court within four weeks. This means UEG needs money now and is asking you to give (you can use PAYPAL on our website (Press the "Donate" button in lower right sidebar) or you can send a check to Kim Burningham at the address below). Please keep reading, because we're at an exciting turning point.

Before our appeal can be submitted, the State must give us a complete count of qualified and disqualified signatures and counting procedures used by county clerks in (1) the three Senate Districts where validity of some e-signatures (or some disqualified handwritten signatures) would have enabled qualification, and (2) the other 23 Senate Districts where the State has already indicated unofficially that we had sufficient handwritten signatures. We will be "auditing" the counts, and part of our argument on appeal is likely to be that counting procedures across counties lacked uniformity and therefore denied voters the equal protection of the laws. We are confident of ultimate victory and a place on the November ballot.

Our funds are depleted from our earlier signature drive and minimal operational needs. Our attorneys donate their time at no cost, but we must immediately raise $15,000 for court costs (we believe they won't be extensive) and initial preparation for a late summer and fall campaign, including a survey to assess voter perceptions and clearly identify our message (the bigger ticket item).

If each of the 1,000 supporters who read this memo would give $15, we would have what we need. We know that this is an unlikely rate of return, but please prove us wrong! If only 300 of you would give $50, we'd also make our goal. We leave it up to each of you to do the math, but please do not ignore this request. No Super PACs have asked if they could adopt us - we're strictly grassroots.

Please give as generously as you can. You may pay by using PAYPAL on our website, or mail a check to Kim Burningham at 932 Canyon Crest Drive, Bountiful, UT 84010. Make checks out to Utahns for Ethical Government. Contribute what you can NOW.

As ever, we appreciate your support in time, money, and understanding of the need for legislative ethics reform. This is a critical time to combat inertia and demonstrate citizen support for our efforts. We must prepare our appeal and be ready to move forward when the Supreme Court rules. Your help now will be important to improved ethical safeguards in the future.

Sincerely,

Utahns for Ethical Government

Kim R Burningham, Chair

Executive Committee: Sheryl Allen, Vik Arnold, Rob Ence, Dixie Huefner, David Irvine, Craig Johnson, Tom Sakievich, Alan Smith, Carmen Snow, Karl Snow