Judge weighs if new Utah party can run in Chaffetz election

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Utah's sped-up special election to replace Jason Chaffetz in Congress doesn't seem to allow enough time for new political parties to get on the ballot, including one recently formed by the son of a former U.S. senator, a federal judge said Friday.

Bennett contends in lawsuit that Utah elections officials violated his constitutional rights by telling him they didn't have time to verify his new United Utah Party, a centrist alternative in the GOP-dominated state.

Utah elections officials announced May 19 that candidates who wanted to run as a political party's nominee had one week to file their candidacy with the state, starting that day.

Assistant Attorney General David Wolf, who represents the lieutenant governor, said it typically takes about 30 days to certify a new political party and United Utah could have been on the ballot if they'd started the process earlier.