This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

In "Time to get rid of caucuses" (Opinion, May 25), Tiani Coleman makes a number of unsupportable assertions:

Coleman claims that with the present caucus system, voters don't get a choice, but they do. That choice is in going to caucus meetings, voting in primary elections and again in the general election.

Corruption is not limited to Utah's caucus system; it occurs regularly in other states without caucuses. Eliminating caucuses won't eliminate corruption, just change how it manifests itself.

Sen. Bob Bennett's low 26 percent convention vote underscores that he was shut out by a large, not a "small group of convention delegates."

Since Sen. Orrin Hatch's record on issues mostly mirrors Bennett's, the reasonable conclusion is that Mike Lee better articulated to delegates his case against Bennett than did Hatch's opponents.

Coleman claims that voters of minority parties are left without a real choices. Both in Utah and nationally, minority parties have sought common ground with major parties: the Communist, Green and Socialist parties aligning with the Democrats, and Libertarian Party aligning with the Republicans.

Chuck Newton

South Jordan