10/22/2026 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

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The Forward Party is built around a coalition of politically independent voters who believe that political power should flow from the bottom up, not from the top down. We intentionally avoid rigid policy platforms. We believe those policy decisions belong not to party leaders, but to local representatives in dialogue with their communities and the best available evidence.

From that same principle, we feel compelled to speak out against proposals that would diminish the voice of the people.

The Utah Constitution provides that the Legislative power of the State shall be vested in the Legislature AND the people of the State of Utah. Thus, in Utah, ballot initiatives serve as a structural check on the use of government power. Ballot initiatives define the people’s ability to take action when the legislators Utahns have elected refuse to do so. Constitutional Amendment B would undermine that authority by creating a double standard. While legislators can adjust tax rates and budget priorities with a simple majority, citizen proposed laws that address those same policies would be forced to clear a 60% supermajority.

In representative democracy, majority rule is a stabilizing force. The smaller the group empowered to block a proposal, the easier it is for narrow, well-funded interests to exert their influence to defeat broad consensus. Under Amendment B, special interests would only need to capture 40% of the electorate to overrule the will of the majority. This makes it harder for the public to advance meaningful changes in policy, while making it structurally easier for a small minority to block reform against the clear will of the public.
Utah’s Constitution is the backbone of our state government, and it should only be altered to address genuine failures in governance. Amendment B addresses no such structural failure; it is an attempt to take power away from citizens by weakening majority rule, diluting the voice of the voter, and insulating politicians from accountability.

The Forward Party was created because voters are tired of a political system that protects insiders at the expense of the public. The initiative power exists so that people can lead when partisan institutions refuse to. For these reasons, the Forward Party of Utah urges all Utahns—Republicans, Democrats, and political independents alike—to protect the voice of the people and vote NO on Amendment B.

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Michelle Quist,
Chair, Forward Party of Utah