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Utah lawmakers are eyeing signature gathering tweaks and runoff elections

The Utah State Capitol on the first day of the 2025 Utah legislative session in Salt Lake City, Jan. 21, 2025.
Briana Scroggins
/
Special to KUER
The Utah State Capitol on the first day of the 2025 Utah legislative session in Salt Lake City, Jan. 21, 2025.

The rules around Utah elections, including the signature gathering process for candidates seeking to get on the election ballot, could face a change.

Signatures have been a hot-button topic following a 2024 legislative audit that found errors for Gov. Spencer Cox, U.S. Sen. John Curtis and Attorney General Derek Brown. Several valid signatures were incorrectly thrown out while a few invalid ones were counted. Despite the errors, all three still successfully qualified and won their offices.

SB53 would allow voters to remove their signature from a candidate’s petition to be on the ballot for up to three business days after the petition is submitted to a county clerk. The bill has already cleared the Senate and lawmakers in the House Government Operations Committee heard it on Jan. 30.

The legislation would also remove the proof of residency requirement for the person collecting signatures. The bill's sponsor, Republican Sen. Calvin Musselman, said cutting the residency obligation protects Utah from future legal trouble that other states have faced for requiring it.

He cited a 2008 case in Oklahoma where the court ruled the requirement violated citizens’ First Amendment rights.

“We anticipated, if we were sued on that particular item, we would lose,” Musselman told the committee.

The bill had support from the public and legislators.

Ricky Hatch, the Weber County Clerk Auditor and chair of the clerk legislative committee, said the bill will help provide clarity for clerks and it has their support. He also voiced support on behalf of the Utah Association of Counties.

“Rather than being sticks in the mud, we are lime in the cement, as in, this is [a] cement solid bill, and we really appreciate Sen. Musselman,” Hatch said.

In a unanimous committee vote, the bill now heads to the full House for discussion.

Lawmakers also discussed HB231. It would add a runoff election process to some of the state’s primary races.

In a race where no candidate receives the majority of votes, another election would be required 35 days later between the two candidates with the most votes from the primary. This protocol would only apply to races for the U.S. Senate, U.S. House, governor, attorney general, state treasurer, state auditor, state Senate and state House.

“I think it's fair to go back to the voters and make sure that a majority of those within the party have certified that they want this person to represent them on the general ballot,” said bill sponsor Republican Rep. Jordan Teuscher.

“I think that is more representative, more democratic in the process, and it's good policy.”

In Utah, a winning candidate is decided when they get more than 50% of the vote in an election. But not every race has a candidate who reaches this threshold. That was the case in the 2024 primary elections. In the race for U.S. Senate, John Curtis received 48.7% of the votes. In the U.S. House District 3 race, Mike Kennedy received 38.8% of the vote.

Republican Rep. Douglas Welton and Democratic Rep. Angela Romero brought up concerns about voter participation in a runoff. Research from FairVote, a nonpartisan organization for researching and advancing electoral reforms, found a 63% decline in voter turnout across the U.S. from the initial 2024 federal primary election to the runoff.

Republican Rep. Paul Cutler had another concern.

“I love the idea. It's great. I'd like to do it,” he said. “The challenge is the money.”

Teuscher said a statewide election costs $2.7 million and the bill doesn’t include any additional funding.

“I think one of the most important things that government funds is elections, and it's important to get it right,” Teuscher said. “And it's worth spending the dollars to make sure that we have the right people in office.”

The bill advanced out of committee on a 9-4 vote. It now heads to the House for debate.

Stevie Shaughnessey is a recent graduate of the University of Utah with a Bachelor of Arts in journalism, and a minor in documentary studies.
Elle Crossley is a senior at the University of Utah, pursuing a degree in Communications with a journalism emphasis.
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