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Letter: I’m with Gov. Cox: Let’s stick to proposing only viable bills and drop all others — like the gratuitous Voting Amendments bill

(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gov. Spencer Cox delivers his State of the State address at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Jan. 22, 2026.

Recently I heard Gov. Cox plead with the Legislature not to send more bills to his office than the state can reasonably administer. One such duplicative bill is HB209, Voting Amendments. The intent is to prevent noncitizens from voting, but this is redundant as it is already illegal.

As I listened to the committee debate, it was clear that the proposed safeguards against noncitizen voting depend on the same systems already in place, but would add a layer of administrative time, effort and expense to execute.

It could also have the unintended consequence of preventing eligible voters, including the most vulnerable, from casting ballots. This is one clog we don’t need in the system! Vote against HB209.

Amy B. Johnson, Salt Lake City

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