Count My Vote vs Fair Elections in Utah who is funding the Buy My Vote group

Major Count My Vote funding so far released. (updated Dec. 31)
Alliance for Good Government
http://disclosures.utah.gov/Search/PublicSearch/FolderDetails/1411317

8/20/2013 Gail Miller   $100,000.00

12/17/2013 James Swartz $25,000.00

12/6/2013 Leslie and Alan Layton $25,000.00

11/22/2013 Ian M. Cumming $25,000.00

11/4/2013 Thomas and Kristin Stockham $25,000.00

10/18/2013 Prime Holdings Insurance Services, Inc. $25,000.00

9/3/2013 Mike Leavitt  $25,000.00

9/3/2013 Rich McKeown $25,000.00

8/26/2013 Garff Enterprises, Inc. $25,000.00

8/26/2013 H. Roger Boyer $25,000.00

8/26/2013 Maccall Management, LLC $25,000.00

8/26/2013 Merit Medical $25,000.00

8/23/2013 Dell Loy Hansen $25,000.00

8/23/2013 Donald and Susan P. Lewon $25,000.00

8/23/2013 John Price $25,000.00

8/22/2013 Kem C. and Carolyn Barnes Gardner $25,000.00

8/20/2013 H. Brent Beesley $25,000.00

8/7/2013 Mark Miller $25,000.00

7/18/2013 Dinesh Patel $25,000.00

7/18/2013 Gary Crocker $25,000.00

9/13/2013 Sandy Chamber of Commerce $24,000.00

12/28/2013 L E Simmons $20,000.00

10/9/2013 Khosrow B. Semnani $15,000.00

8/13/2013 Burton L. and Elaine L. Gordon $12,500.00

12/31/2013 John Miller $10,000.00

12/30/2013 David E. Simmons $10,000.00

12/26/2013 Dan England $10,000.00

12/11/2013 Anne Osborn $10,000.00

8/27/2013 JLS Holdings, LLC $10,000.00

8/12/2013 ThomasArts Holding, Inc. $10,000.00

7/11/2013 Bruce Bastian $10,000.00

7/10/2013 Omar Kader $10,000.00

5/7/2012 Khosrow B. Semnani $10,000.00

4/24/2012 William Nelson Shiebler $10,000.00

4/20/2012 Dell Loy Hansen $10,000.00

4/16/2012 Lunt Capital Management, Inc. $10,000.00

12/13/2013 Gail Miller $9,000.00

11/13/2013 Gail Miller $9,000.00

12/31/2013 Scott Keller $5,000.00

12/20/2013 R. Anthony Sweet $5,000.00

12/4/2013 Thomas Guinney $5,000.00

11/22/2013 Kristen M Fletcher $5,000.00

11/6/2013 Victor and Linda Lund $5,000.00

11/4/2013 E R Dumke, Jr. $5,000.00

10/16/2013 Ezekiel Dumke $5,000.00

9/30/2013 Edward McCartney $5,000.00

11/4/2013 Lonnie M. Bullard $3,000.00

12/31/2013 Clark and Jennifer Whitworth $2,500.00

12/31/2013 Don Stirling $2,500.00

12/30/2013 James Olson $2,500.00

The caucus & convention system in Utah is the best way to make sure a grassroots process can win over large amounts of money. It is the only way someone with $100,000 can go against someone with $2 million in election funds.

Our problem with voter turnout is it has not kept up with the population increase. The voter turnout keeps going up but not as fast as the population. Some of that is the younger voters, where Utah has a larger percentage of them and they aren't, as a group, as involved. Also those moving in and not understanding our system. Utah also has lower turnout because of a dominate party.

If you change the way our Utah primary's work, you could have two republicans in the general election ballot (or two democrats).
 
We have a system that that does NOT favor the incumbent, wealthy or famous. This is a good thing. Keep Fair Elections in Utah. Keep the neighborhood caucus election system.  

Update:
I am glad Gail Miller is keeping involved. Helping children with reading.

It is sad she bought into the Count My Vote / Buy My Vote arguments however. Didn't Chris Cannon have endorsements from Pres. Bush, Mitt Romney and both of the then current US Senators at the time? Jason Chaffetz still won.

re: Sen. Bennett in 2010. He was not in the top 2 coming out of convention. In fact the more moderate Tim Bridgewater was selected by 57% of the delegates in the last round. Mike Lee managed to get 43% and make it to a primary. Sen. Bennett endorsed Tim Bridgewater during the primary, but with voters ticked at TARP and ObamaCare, they went with Mike Lee.
 
You like or don't like Sen. Mike Lee? Well 57% of the delegates didn't pick him to be the nominee. It was during the primary he was selected to be the GOP nominee.
 
Limiting? There were over 120,000 voters that participated in the 2012 Neighborhood Caucus election and meeting. The democratic caucus also had record turnout. People want a say on who shows up on the ballot.
 
The open primary is working so well in 2013 where 15% was considered good? You can't blame that on the caucus system. The one time Utah got rid of the caucus system our turnout went to 10% for a primary that included the US Senate. It was even that low in Salt Lake County. See August of 1946.

For more information see:
http://fairelectionsutah.com/

Fair Elections in Utah vs Count My Vote

The caucus & convention system in Utah is the best way to make sure a grassroots process can win over large amounts of money. It is the only way someone with $100,000 can go against someone with $2 million in election funds.

We have a system that that does NOT favor the incumbent, wealthy or famous. This is a good thing.

Our problem with voter turnout is it has not kept up with the population increase. The voter turnout keeps going up but not as fast as the population. Some of that is the younger voters, where Utah has a larger percentage of them and they aren't, as a group, as involved. Also those moving in and not understanding our system.

We already have a "bypass" system, filing as an unaffiliated candidate. You go straight to the general. Someone doesn't think they can win if vetted by average citizens asking one on one questions, can run and spend the money. Why should they be a party nominee if they are going to bypass the party?

If you change the way our Utah primary's work, you could have two republicans in the general election ballot (or two democrats).


Bypassing the caucus/convention system will not create more participation. There are 4,000 state delegates and many more county delegates that spend countless hours vetting candidates to be on the ballot. They are selected by those that attend the neighborhood election caucus meeting. The current one-on-one candidate vetting by delegates cannot be done well any other way.

When people realize this Count My Vote initiative will give them less of a chance to participate but give media and power brokers more power, they will not sign any initiative. This is a power grab and it isn't by the neighbors you elect as delegates.

If you are going to run as a Democratic candidate, you have to comply with their rules. If you are going to run as a Republican, you have to comply with their rules. If you don't like those rules, you can run as unaffiliated, independent or as a third-party candidate. Count My Vote is attempting to change all party rules by changing state laws by initiative, thus bypassing the political parties and the Legislature.


Who gets to pick the people that show up on the ballot? It is the voters through the caucus system. The candidates get to decide if they are going to run and each of us vote to have them vetted. We put the best ones we have that volunteered to run on the ballot. One of the reasons we get involved in the caucus system is to have a say as to who is on the ballot.

If we didn't have the system we have, it would be the power brokers that would get to decide. They are the ones trying to get rid of the caucus.

Keep Fair Elections in Utah, keep the caucus and convention system

For more information, see:
http://www.fairelectionsutah.com/