Utah Forward Party

How Utah Forward Priorities Work

What is a Priority, and how is it different from a traditional policy?

A priority is an important matter that should be addressed by our elected officials. This is different from a policy, which is a proposed solution for a priority. Party policies are often enshrined in a party’s platform document.

The Forward Party is not just a new political party. It's a new definition of what a party is supposed to be. Instead of assuming the best approach is through a top-down platform document, Utah Forwardists identify their priorities for themselves. The Party organizes open discussion around possible solutions, and candidates present their plans to address those priorities.

This approach accomplishes two important things:

1. It opens up the field to a range of propositions which encourages open debate and data-driven solutions.
2. It forces candidates to articulate a clear plan to address each priority. Voters can then compare competing candidates using our priorities as a measuring stick.

Priorities are also different from values (read about ours here). Values are abstract, common-sense tenets we try to adhere to, whereas priorities are more specific to the issues.

How Priorities are identified

Members of the community submit priorities. The priorities with the most votes at our Convention are designated as “top priorities.” On an ongoing basis, the Forward Party will dedicate its efforts to identifying common ground solutions to the top priorities. This is a new process which we expect to improve over time.

Here are the the steps:

1. Utah Forwardists submit their priorities via a form once the submission window opens (before the annual Convention).
2. The Priorities Committee compiles the priorities into a comprehensive list. This will include merging similar suggestions and standardizing language. The Committee will exclude incendiary submissions that are deemed not to be in line with Forward's value of Grace and Tolerance.
3. Participants at the state convention will use Approval Voting to vote for all of the proposed priorities they believe should be priorities for the coming year.
   
   1. Any priority approved by at least 50% will be included on the published list of Utah Priorities.
   2. The priorities that receive the most votes will be identified as our top priorities.

2025 Priorities

This year's priorities vote occurred at the Utah Forward Party - United Utah Party Combined Statewide Convention on April 26th, 2025. Review the full results here. We also held breakout sessions on a handful of priority topics from 2024 at the convention. Be sure you've subscribed to our mailing list for updates on how we're working to identify common ground solutions to the stated Priorities throughout the year. This may take the form of town halls hosted by Forward over the summer.

Priorities Summary

Electoral Reform:
- Election Process Reform (89.8%)
- Representative Voting Districts (87.8%)
- Representative Voting Methods (85.7%)
- Campaign Finance Reform (82.7%)
- Expand Voter Participation (65.3%)

Good Governance:
- Government Transparency (80.6%)
- Limit Partisan Influence (74.5%)
- Separation of Powers (71.4%)
- Government Accountability (69.4%)
- Fiscal Responsibility (59.2%)
- Taxes and Regulations (53.1%)

Societal Well-Being:
- Housing Availability: (68.4%)
- Education Funding: (65.3%)
- Healthcare (64.3%)
- Immigration (60.2%)
- Homelessness (55.1%)

Environmental Stewardship:
- Environment (66.3%)
- Great Salt Lake (66.3%)
- Energy (62.2%)

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Top Priorities

Top Priorities are defined as those that received 2/3 vote at convention.

Election Process Reform
Many current elements of candidate selection in Utah, including closed primaries and the caucus system, exclude unaffiliated and independent voters. This has been shown to result in more polarizing nominees to the General Election. Promote solutions to democratize the primary process and thereby promote political engagement. Explore and promote policies that will level the playing field for good candidates. Ideas to explore include reducing incumbent advantages, transparency in campaign finances, and limiting the influence of moneyed special interests at the expense of general citizens.

Representative Voting Districts
The practice of gerrymandering leads to an overrepresentation of the party currently in power and minimizes the importance of general elections. Promote solutions that give voters throughout the state a fair and equal opportunity to select elected officials that represent their views.

Representative Voting Methods
Current plurality voting methods contribute to polarization and lead people to fear that votes for preferred candidates will be “wasted” if they’re not from the traditional parties, forcing voters to choose “the lesser of two evils.”

Campaign Finance Reform
Unrestricted corporate donations can diminish the influence of the general electorate in political campaigns. Promote policies that elevate the voice of citizens and rein in corporate and other organizational donations to political campaigns.

Government Transparency
All proposed legislation and the process by which it is created should be open to meaningful public review. It should also be examined by neutral legal staff for conflicts with the state and national Constitution and existing law. Promote ethics reforms that make it easier to identify and eliminate conflicts of interest. Promote policies that make government records publicly available, with limited exceptions for personal privacy and when disclosure would harm the public interest.

Limit Partisan Influence
Support more non-partisan elections where possible. Examples for research and consideration include positions such as city and county councils, school boards, sheriffs, and attorneys general.

Separation of Powers
Support and strengthen the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government. Each branch should be strong and independent in order to maintain checks and balances. Resist efforts to politicize and impose partisan politics on the judicial branch of government.

Government Accountability
Utah is one of 11 states that do not allow recalls at either the state or local level. Explore and propose approaches to allow the citizens to recall an elected official, including the threshold necessary to initiate a recall, and the process for performing a recall election.

Housing Availability
Housing prices have risen in Utah to unsustainable levels. Promote solutions to increase the availability of affordable housing for families of all sizes.

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Priorities

Priorities received at least 50% of the vote at the convention.

Environment
Rapid growth and environmental changes in Utah have led to significant challenges related to the availability of potable water, agriculture, air quality, and public access to amazing and beautiful outdoor locations in Utah. Encourage responsible, local, and ethically sourced products. Promote and expand programs and incentives for communities to implement responsible behaviors such as electricity & water conservation, recycling, etc. Encourage legislation that prevents toxic waste and other pollutants throughout the state. Propose forward-thinking and holistic solutions to balance growth with sustainability and environmental stewardship.

Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake is a vital and iconic feature in our state. Loss of water levels in the Great Salt Lake has already resulted in increased pollution and other health hazards and threatens much of the tourism that supports Utah's economy. Promote solutions to secure the long-term health of the Great Salt Lake, with consideration for other vital resources such as agriculture.

Education Funding
Fund child and young adult education sufficiently to provide sustained economic growth, an engaged citizenry, and to equip students for a rapidly changing world. Promote policies that balance the empowerment of teachers with accountability to ensure that funds are used effectively.

Expand Voter Participation
Reduce barriers to registration and make it easier for all citizens to vote, while balancing the need for voter identification and ballot security. Ensure that citizens have a reasonably achievable ability to alter and reform state and local government through good-faith ballot initiatives and referendums.

Healthcare
Support efforts to reduce healthcare costs and increase efficiencies in the healthcare system. Promote reforms that extend healthcare, including mental healthcare, to more people. Reforms should also seek to improve outcomes and the quality of care.

Energy
Promote research and policies that expand access to clean and renewable energy sources. Encourage development and adoption of innovative solutions that make clean energy more widely available at lower costs.  Examples of renewable and zero pollution energy that should be explored include hydrogen and geothermal.

Immigration
Support policy reforms that respect the dignity of individuals and the unity of families. Advocate for a healthy immigration system that creates and enforces fair laws that promote the economic benefits of immigration.

Fiscal Responsibility
Support sound fiscal policies that create a viable, long-term balance between government revenues and expenditures for the benefit of current and future generations.

Homelessness
The rate of homelessness is growing in Utah, and those who find themselves unhoused deserve compassion and assistance. Promote solutions to assist those who are experiencing homelessness.

Taxes and Regulations
Create a more efficient tax system that minimizes loopholes, reduces negative effects on working families and small businesses, and ensures a fair contribution from all. Review regulations and policies to continually assess their value in a changing economy.

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