Utah's constitutional amendments require next-level reading
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If you've had to read Utah's proposed constitutional amendments on your ballot more than once to understand them, you're not alone.
The big picture: In theory, a person needs an average of 21 years of formal education in the U.S. to understand the two proposed constitutional amendments on Utah's ballot this year, according to a new Ballotpedia analysis.
- That's about nine more years of education beyond a high school diploma.
State of play: Of the two, Amendment A is the hardest to read, per Ballotpedia, clocking in at 85 words with a reading ease score of -7.
- Amendment A would eliminate Utah's requirement to publish the text of proposed constitutional amendments in newspapers 60 days before Election Day.
- If approved, the text would instead have to be published on the state's Public Notice and the lieutenant governor's websites during that period.
Amendment B would require ballot initiatives that raise taxes to receive at least 60% voter approval to pass, rather than a simple majority. That text is 31 words and has a reading ease score of 28.
How it works: Ballotpedia used the Flesch Reading Ease test, which measures readability based on the number of words, sentences and syllables in a text, assigning a score that ranges from 0 to 100.
- A score of 100 is equivalent to a fifth-grade reading level, while scores below zero indicate extremely difficult text.
Yes, but: Critics warn oversimplifying could leave voters less informed.
- Some also say it could open the floodgates to lawsuits over ballot wording.
Case in point: In 2024, a Utah judge voided Amendment D, a proposal that would have allowed state lawmakers to repeal citizen-led initiatives, because the text on the ballot contained "glaring" omissions.