This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
If the Lieutenant Governor's Office won't force county political parties to disclose campaign cash on its own, then the attorney general should intervene.
So says the Salt Lake County Democratic Party, which filed a complaint Wednesday calling on the attorney general to take legal action to ensure that the lieutenant governor cracks down on county parties that fail to abide state financial-disclosure deadlines.
"The Lieutenant Governor's Office has a solemn responsibility in overseeing elections and ensuring that every participant is on equal ground," the party's attorney, Daniel Widdison wrote. "Failure to comply with the statutory duty to oversee this process is a breach of the public trust and creates an unfair advantage in favor of noncompliant parties."
A recent Salt Lake Tribune analysis found that 41 of the 58 major county political parties — Republican and Democratic — had not filed financial disclosures by Aug. 31, the latest reporting deadline. Many of those parties had missed repeated deadlines.
Mark Thomas, elections director for the lieutenant governor, acknowledged last week the state has taken no action against delinquent county parties. Why? Because there are too many questions in state law, he said, about whether those organizations are actually required to file disclosures.
"How much time do we want to spend going through these reports?" he said last week.
But Democratic Party Chairman Weston Clark accused the lieutenant governor Wednesday of putting too little emphasis on transparency.
"This neglect of the law cannot be tolerated," Clark said. "It needs to be investigated."
Paul Murphy, spokesman for the attorney general, confirmed his office had received the complaint.
"We will review it," he said, "and take the appropriate steps."
While the Democratic Party has every right to appeal to the attorney general, Thomas countered he is seeking changes to state law that would allow for better enforcement. He appealed to the Government Operations and Political Subdivisions Committee on Wednesday for changes, but received no immediate direction.
"I would urge lawmakers to make the law very specific and clear, and err on the side of making it more open and more transparent," said Thomas Wright, chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party, who testified at the hearing. "That is what the voters want."
Whether or not the Legislature acts, Thomas said his office will reconsider its approach to county party disclosures and "make sure we are on the right track."
In other business
R Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake City, wants to tweak Utah law to make it possible for people to register to vote on Election Day — and have their vote counted.
She introduced the idea to a legislative subcommittee Wednesday, hoping to improve voter turnout in a state that ranked among the lowest in the nation during the 2008 election with 54 percent of registered voters reaching the polls.
Houck also suggested creating voting centers where residents, regardless of voting district, could cast their ballots.