Utah voters reject Amendment B's 60% bar for tax initiatives and pass Amendment A

Amendment B fails

Utah voters rejected Constitutional Amendment B on Tuesday. Unofficial statewide results posted at 1:42 a.m. Wednesday showed 430,908 votes against, or 62.30%, and 260,755 for, or 37.70%, with all 29 counties reporting. ^[1]

The Associated Press called the race around 10:15 p.m., FOX 13 reported. ^[2]

Amendment B would have required citizen ballot initiatives that raise taxes to win 60% of the vote instead of a simple majority. ^[2]

Elizabeth Rasmussen, executive director of Better Boundaries and spokesperson for the opposition campaign Utahns Protecting Our Constitution, said in a statement that the group was "encouraged by the votes that have been counted thus far" and would wait for the final outcome before saying more. ^[2]

Americans for Prosperity, which backed the amendment, had argued that measures raising costs for Utahns should face a higher bar. Its Utah chapter did not respond to FOX 13 on Tuesday night. ^[2]

Amendment A passes

Amendment A was passing with 412,592 votes for, or 60.20%, and 272,733 against, or 39.80%. ^[1]

The Utah Constitution now requires the full text of a proposed amendment or statewide initiative to be published in a newspaper in every county that has one at least two months before the election. Amendment A replaces that with publication "in a manner provided by statute." Under a companion bill that takes effect if the amendment passes, the text would be posted on the state's public notice website and the lieutenant governor's website. ^[2]

Supporters pointed to changing media habits. The proposal followed a 2024 Utah Supreme Court ruling that struck down a constitutional amendment in part because the newspaper publication rule was not followed. Rep. Anthony Loubet and Sen. Daniel McCay wrote the ballot argument in favor. ^[2]

Results are unofficial. County clerks are still counting mail ballots that arrived on Election Day, and counties have until the canvass two weeks after the election to certify final totals.