- A proposed bill in the Utah State Legislature would put Utah Valley University in charge of organizing debates for state and local political candidates.
- Former Utah Gov. Gary Herbert has endorsed the idea behind HB557.
- Proponents hope that young adults can make debates more appealing, thereby getting more people civically engaged.
A new bill moving through the Utah State Legislature could create a university-run, student-supported election debate committee.
The proposed Utah Debate Committee at Utah Valley University would organize election debates for state and local candidates in Utah.
It would effectively replace the existing Utah Debate Commission, a unique, independent nonpartisan organization made up of members of the state’s universities and print, digital and broadcast media companies which set aside competitive differences to promote civic engagement by organizing candidate debates throughout Utah.
The Utah Debate Commission will not go away, according to Rep. Nelson Abbott, R-Orem, who sponsored HB557. It may continue to hold candidate debates, just not with the public funding that augments money raised privately to carry out debates.
“As Utah’s long-standing independent debate commission, the Utah Debate Commission remains committed to vigorous, open debates that enhance our political process and a well informed electorate,” Becky Edwards and Phil Cooper, co-chairs of the Utah Debate Commission, said in a statement. “We look forward to continuing to be part of the ongoing discussions on this bill.”
Putting election debates in the hands of young adults
Justin Jones, executive director at the Herbert Institute, said that donations were no longer sufficient to adequately provide candidate debates as a public service — so debate advocates have gone to the Utah Legislature for funding, which assigned it to a state agency, meaning Utah Valley University and the Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy.
The new organizational structure is described in HB557. Members of the Utah Debate Commission, which includes former Gov. Herbert, actually participated in pushing forward HB557, though they indicated they had not considered UVU’s Herbert Institute taking charge of the Debate Committee.
Those involved with the legislation are excited to further involve students and hopefully popularize election debates in Utah.
“You know, traditionally, debates have been a couple of people standing on a stage, there’s a panel in front, they ask them questions and they go back and forth, right? And ... that gets the information out, (but) it’s not terrible entertaining,” said Abbott.
“I really have high hopes that, with getting a younger crowd involved in preparing the debates ... (we can) try and make them more appealing to a younger age group.”
Former Gov. Herbert gets involved
Abbott said that while he believes any university in the state could have run the debate committee, Utah Valley University was chosen for the Herbert Institute and its ties to the former governor.
Following his time as governor, which extended from 2009 to 2021, Herbert founded the Herbert Institute at UVU, which he attended during his youth.
Its mission is to bolster positive civic engagement, develop future policy leaders and gather the community and political leaders in informed, respectful civil discourse.
“No question, having a nonpartisan debate commission that isn’t favoring one candidate or candidate’s party over another is essential in our democracy,” said Jones. “Giving these candidates a platform to stand up and share their perspectives, share their policy views, is really an essential part of our democracy. The Herbert Institute was created and founded with the goal to bring the community together to talk about policy issues.” The Utah Debate Commission is non-partisan.
Jones said that the Herbert Institute has already hosted several local debates and candidate forums on UVU’s campus.
“We’re passionate about bringing the community together to have informed voters and voting and elections has been an important part of the Herbert Institute’s mission,” he told the Deseret News.
The current Utah Debate Commission is widely credited with increasing voter turnout through its education outreach efforts and laid the groundwork to host the 2020 Vice Presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence at the University of Utah.