Utah lawmakers decide not to hear reports on problems with Republican caucus

SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah legislative committee voted to shut down a discussion about the Republican Party presidential caucus in March before it even began.

The Government Operations Interim Committee was set to hear reports Wednesday afternoon about the caucus that was marked by complaints about long lines, problems with registering, and a generally chaotic process.

People packed a committee room at the State Capitol to hear that discussion. But it didn’t happen. As soon as the meeting got underway, Rep. Stephanie Gricius, R-Eagle Mountain, immediately proposed removing the item from the agenda.

“It’s become clear to me this is not the appropriate place and the appropriate way to have this conversation,” Gricius said, arguing that one of the reports the committee was set to hear was biased. “Using this committee to air personal grievances is both inappropriate and a waste of time.”

That report in question was compiled by Daryl Acumen, a solutions consultant who said he polled thousands of Republicans – most of whom were upset about how the March 5 caucus was carried out.

Acumen told KSL TV he was upset the committee punted on the discussion.

“They don’t care,” Acumen said. “They don’t care what the voters have to say.”

‘People didn’t know where to go’

The Disability Law Center, which was also set to present to the legislative committee, reported numerous obstacles that night preventing some voters from fully participating

“There were problems with signage. People didn’t know where to go,” said Nate Crippes, the organization’s public affairs supervising attorney. “Lines were incredibly long. Nobody knew who to ask for accommodations.”

But Utah Republican chairman Rob Axson said the party handled every request it got for accommodations on caucus night. He also said the party isn’t responsible for city or school buildings where voting took place.

“Coming after one organization who is utilizing a public space and claiming we have control over the physical building of that building is not legitimate,” Axson said.

The in-person caucus had low turnout statewide, under 10%, and results weren’t released for hours. But Axson defended how it went overall.

“The Utah Republican Party is always proud of what we do well, and we are also always open to suggestions on where we fall short, and we always have to be improving our process and our systems,” Axson said.

But he’s glad the panel voted not to discuss it Wednesday. Axson said it wasn’t the right place. Every lawmaker agreed with him except one, Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City.

Questions need answers

Thatcher said there are questions about that night in March that need answers.

“I think if we’re afraid to even ask questions, I think it makes us look a whole lot worse than whatever those answers might be,” Thatcher said.

The Government Operations Interim Committee did not set a date for a future discussion of this topic. It’s the second month in a row the panel was supposed to take this up. In August, the item was on the same committee’s agenda, but it was postponed until this month without further explanation.

Crippes, with the Disability Law Center, said he doesn’t have a position on whether a caucus is a good idea or not. He just wants to talk about what happened at the last one.

“I think we’re just frustrated that we’re not getting a chance to say what we think is important, that there were problems with accessibility during the Republican presidential caucus,” Crippes said. “We just, at the end of the day, hope that gets addressed.”