The Utah Supreme Court issued a temporary restraining order Monday to prevent the printing of ballots that do not list independent gubernatorial candidate Merrill Cook in the same position as his opponents.
The order, signed by Justice Richard Howe, will be in effect until the court considers at 2 p.m. Wednesday Cook's request that new ballots be printed, according to Cook's attorney, Tim Dunn.Cook has claimed that the ballots printed for 16 of the state's smaller counties treat his candidacy unfairly by placing his and his running mate's names below the other major party gubernatorial candidates.
The ballot contains columns for Democratic, Republican, American, Libertarian and New Alliance candidates for state and national offices. Cook and Lee Allen are listed in a column for miscellaneous parties including Socialist.
Vernon Carr, head of the Bountiful company that prints paper and punch-card ballots for all but two Utah counties, said there might not be enough time to print and distribute 70,000 new ballots by the Nov. 8 election.