2022 UT Senate race: on Government Reform

Austin Searle: For term limits for Congress & Supreme Court

U.S. Senators To Serve Three Four-Year Terms
U.S. House Of Representatives To Serve Three Two-Year Terms
U.S. Supreme Court To Serve A Max Of 18 Years

Source: 2021-2022 Utah Senate race website AustinForSenate.com Jun 27, 2021

Austin Searle: Ranked-choice voting should be a human right

Ranked-choice voting should be a human right to vote for their candidate in order from their top candidate to their second choice and so on. Some may ask, "What is the point in this?". Some may have a hard decision on voting for one candidate when they believe that they should also vote for another candidate. Voting for others running for office will also give voters a chance to decide if they also like another candidate's policies and perhaps are their second choice. Source: 2021-2022 Utah Senate race website AustinForSenate.com Jun 27, 2021

Evan McMullin: Oppose the intentional disenfranchisement of voters

We seek the preservation and betterment of our democratic republic and the endurance of our self-government, free from foreign interference. We support reforms that make our system more accessible, transparent, and competitive, oppose the intentional disenfranchisement of voters, and reject extremism, whether of the right or the left.

Ensuring voting rights for all eligible Americans
Ending partisan gerrymandering and other electoral corruption
Toughening transparency and ethics laws
Reducing the influence of money in politics
Uniting Americans on common ground

Source: 2022 Utah Senate campaign website EvanMcMullin.com Jun 10, 2022

Evan McMullin: We support sensible and limited regulation

Capitalism, while insufficient to address all matters of the public interest, has made America the most prosperous nation on earth and is the engine for innovation and economic growth. We support sensible and limited regulation, including to ensure equal opportunity, and affirm government's vital role in assisting vulnerable citizens, while encouraging self-reliance without the impediments of cronyism and corruption. Source: 2022 Utah Senate campaign website EvanMcMullin.com Jun 10, 2022

Mike Lee: Voted to certify 2020 election after questioning it

Incumbent Sen. Mike Lee faces a credible threat from independent Evan McMullin after Lee strongly aligned himself with former President Trump.

Commentator 1: And McMullin didn't just leave the Republican Party. Like, he ran for president against Trump in 2016 as an independent, right?

Commentator 2: That's right. He was only on the ballot in a handful of states but actually won 21% of the vote here in Utah. And Senator Mike Lee, who he's running against right now, actually voted for him and not Trump.

Commentator 1: So Senator Lee did not vote for Trump in 2016, but Trump is actually still endorsing Lee in this election?

Commentator 2: You're right.

Lee was also endorsed by former Vice President Mike Pence. That being said, it has been revealed that Lee was in contact with the Trump White House following the 2020 election and was actually encouraging plans to overturn the election. He later reversed course and voted to certify the election on January 6.

Source: National Public Radio on 2022 Utah Senate race Oct 2, 2022

Mike Lee: Only role on Jan. 6 is counting electoral ballots

Incumbent Utah Sen. Mike Lee voted to certify Biden's electoral votes on January 6, 2021, saying in his floor speech that the only constitutional role for Congress was to open and count the electoral ballots. Two weeks later, Lee congratulated Biden on his inauguration as president. But Lee had previously tried to overturn Biden's victory.

Text messages between Lee and then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows show that Lee made extensive behind-the-scenes efforts, before January 6, to try to find a way to keep Trump in office. On November 23, 2020, Lee suggested an "audit" of ballots in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia and Michigan--baselessly claiming to Meadows that "something is not right in a few states." Then, on December 8, 2020, Lee floated the idea of states won by Biden appointing fake pro-Trump electors: "If a very small handful of states were to have their legislatures appoint alternative slates of delegates, there could be a path."

Source: CNN on 2020 Election Denial in 2022 Utah Senate race Sep 15, 2022

The above quotations are from 2022 Utah Senate race: debates and news coverage. Click here for definitions & background information on Government Reform. Click here for other issues (main summary page). Click here for more quotes by Mike Lee on Government Reform.
*Candidates and political leaders on Government Reform:*
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Page last updated: Feb 14, 2023