Utah officially banned all slavery with an amendment to it’s constitution following an overwhelming majority vote on Election Day.
Democratic Utah Rep. Sandra Hollins, Utah’s first black female representative, and Republican Utah Sen. Jake Anderegg sponsored the bill, according to Fox 13.
The to-be-amended section reads, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within this State.”
The amendment was approved after receiving more than 81 percent of the vote, Fox 13 SLC reported. (RELATED: We Spent Election Night Inside Trump’s White House Extravaganza — Here’s What It Was Like)
In Utah, we have a practice & principle of getting things done. Legislation to remove references to “slavery” from Utah’s Constitution went through all committees, Senate & House without a single nay vote & signed by the governor. Amendment C is a no brainer-Sen. Anderegg. #utpol pic.twitter.com/kxthqLKmQp
— Utah Senate (@utahsenate) September 22, 2020
“It’s the right thing to do” said Derek Brown, Utah GOP Chairman, in an October video published by Utah Coalition to Abolish Slavery. The change gets rid of “language in the Constitution that just doesn’t make sense” said the GOP chairman.
Utahns across the political spectrum support voting FOR Amendment C! Thanks to the Chair of the Utah Republican Party, Derek Brown, for your support! @UtahGOP pic.twitter.com/bqUJpjzIFw
— Utah Coalition to Abolish Slavery (@vote4amendmentc) October 27, 2020
“It’s offensive. It needs to go. I’m grateful to members of the legislature who have sponsored the bill and to everyone who would take the time to vote,” Brown added.
@UTGOPChair and the UTGOP strongly urge Utahns to support #AmendmentC. Let’s remove the possibility of enslaving anyone from our governing documents. #utpol https://t.co/MuN9njfbIY
— UtahGOP (@UtahGOP) September 2, 2020