The Forward Party represents the growing coalition of political independents and third-party voters who are routinely excluded from meaningful participation in government. Today, independents and third-party affiliates make up more than 36% of Utah’s registered voters.
As a party for independents, we avoid taking positions on specific legislation whenever possible. Those decisions should belong to voters and legislators, not party leadership. However, we will speak clearly on election reform—especially when legislation is used to entrench power rather than strengthen democracy. In Utah, the disconnect is stark: roughly 50% of voters are registered Republicans, yet nearly 80% of state legislators are Republican.
Senate Bill 194, sponsored by Sen. Michael McKell and heard today in Government Operations, is a sweeping omnibus bill that makes multiple, troubling changes to Utah’s election code. Among other provisions, it reduces voter privacy, introduces new barriers framed around citizenship, and—most concerning to the Forward Party—changes the rules for midterm legislative replacements in a way that further consolidates power within the GOP supermajority.
Sen. McKell recently stated as a justification for the bill, “That was a seat voted for by Republicans. And that’s just common sense. I just think it’s a matter of fairness.”
Fair to whom?
If “fairness” means fairness to party delegates and leadership, then the bill succeeds. Utah’s GOP benefits; just as we think it will benefit the Forward Party when some portion of our 26 candidates in 2026 win their races. Party loyalties will be demanded. But the responsibility of the Legislature—and this committee—is fairness to voters, not parties. Utahns elect individuals to represent their districts, they do not elect parties.
Locking a midterm replacement to the party affiliation of a legislator at the time they were first elected does nothing to reduce partisan influence. It is a reactionary change that punishes independence and disregards voter intent.
This approach appears to reflect a broader anxiety within the Republican Party nationwide: that the party—now increasingly shaped by national politics—no longer reflects its traditional commitment to conservatism and individual liberty, and that as it moves toward “ends-justify-the-means” decision-making, more elected officials may choose to leave. Rather than address that concern through persuasion or reform, this policy attempts to prevent defection by tightening procedural control.
Notably, 25 of 50 states fill legislative vacancies through open elections, allowing voters—not party insiders—to choose the replacement. That is fairness. This proposal is not.
The Forward Party will not support SB 194 as written. We believe Utah should adopt open midterm elections for state legislative vacancies, just as they occur for federal offices.
In the replacement process that led to the appointment of Sen. Natalie Pinkney Buss, the Forward Party intentionally ceded party control and opened the process to all voters. Republicans, Democrats, independents—anyone—could participate. This process was fully transparent and publicly documented at 11chooses.com.
The results speak for themselves:
- 1,301 voters participated, five times the turnout of the most recent GOP-controlled replacement
- The electorate closely matched District 11’s actual party composition ● 696 voters (53.5%) were Republicans, exceeding the district’s Republican registration share
- Republican participation was 2.5× higher than in the Brammer replacement and 5.4× higher than in the Balderree replacement
So we ask again: fair to whom?
If this policy were debated openly—rather than buried in a complex omnibus bill—would Utah voters, including most Republicans, truly support it?
We urge members of the Utah Legislature to vote NO on Senate Bill 194 and to stand for election systems that expand participation, transparency, and trust.
