The Utah Legislature is looking at the state’s election system through a microscope.
More than 80 bills related to elections are in front of lawmakers this session. Some propose massive changes like altering vote-by-mail, while others are minor and include allowing Utahns to register to vote when they purchase a hunting license.
Here are five bills KUER is watching in the final week of the session.
Vote-by-mail reforms
Sponsored by Republican Rep. Jefferson Burton, HB300 would change the vote-by-mail system Utah has widely used since 2018.
Instead of all active voters being automatically sent a ballot, they would need to opt-in to vote by mail. They would need to do this every eight years starting in 2028. If a voter fails to request a ballot by mail, they will have to vote in person.
It would also require all voters to write down the last four digits of a valid form of identification on their ballot. For people who vote by mail, ballots would need to be at the county clerk’s office by 8 p.m. on Election Day. If it doesn’t arrive in time, the vote will not count.
People would still be able to drop off their ballots at a secure dropbox or vote in person.
The purpose, Burton said, is to provide a greater sense of election security. Republicans in the Legislature have expressed concern about people voting who are not eligible. While there is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Utah, an audit of the 2024 election found two deceased people submitted a ballot.
The bill has changed drastically from the time when it was first heard in committee to when it was debated in the House. The original text curtailed the ability to vote by mail almost entirely. While voters would still receive their ballot in the mail, they wouldn’t be able to return it the same way. Rather, voters would need to turn in their ballot at a dropbox and present their ID to a poll worker.
Burton believes the heavily amended version of the bill keeps vote by mail intact while addressing concerns about accessibility and cost. The bill passed the House mostly along party lines and heads to the Senate where more changes are expected.
Getting rid of same-day voter registration
Right now, eligible Utahns can register to vote on Election Day. But HB445, a proposal by freshman Republican Rep. Doug Fiefia would move the registration deadline to 21 days before Election Day. Voters would also need to request a mail-in ballot 14 days before Election Day.
Fiefia argues the change would allow county clerks to process ballots and release results faster.
Utah was one of the last states to release election results during the 2024 election. That’s partly because Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson told county clerks not to release results until everyone who was in line at the polls voted. Another reason was because of the large number of people who registered on Election Day. Those voters are given a provisional ballot, which takes longer to process.
The change would bolster confidence in Utah’s election system because voters aren’t waiting as long for the first batch of results to come out, Fiefia said. The bill passed out of the House along party lines and awaits debate in the Senate.
Creating run-off elections
As it is now, if a primary election has more than two candidates, the candidate with the most votes wins, even if they don’t have more than 50% of the vote. HB231, from Jason Kyle, would make winning a majority a requirement to be declared the winner. The bill would also create a runoff election between the top two candidates if no one gets over 50%.
For example, in the four-way 2024 GOP senate primary to replace Sen. Mitt Romney, John Curtis was declared the winner with 48.7% of the vote. If this proposal was in place, Curtis and Riverton Mayor Trent Staggs, who finished in second with 32.7%, would have had to face off again in a runoff to determine the winner.
Some lawmakers have expressed concerns over the cost of running another election, as well as what adding a runoff could do to voter fatigue.
HB231 passed the House on March 4 on a 50-20 vote. It now heads to the Senate.
Who oversees elections
In Utah, the lieutenant governor is in charge of overseeing elections. Republican Rep. Ryan Wilcox wants to establish a “conflict of interest” officer to oversee elections if the lieutenant governor is on the ballot with HB369.
The State Board of Canvassers would meet with county clerks to appoint someone to the position. That person would need to know how to run elections, but they cannot be an elected official themselves. It also creates an Elections Oversight Task Force to provide recommendations on how to improve election administration and oversight.
Wilcox’s bill was inspired by concerns raised during the 2024 election. Lt. Gov. Diedre Henderson was on the ballot but was also in charge of overseeing the election. As Gov. Spencer Cox had done in the past when he was the lieutenant governor and on the ballot in the governor’s race, Henderson appointed an independent advisor to handle election questions. Some Utahns said a candidate on the ballot should not be overseeing the election because it is a conflict of interest.
The legislation passed unanimously in the House and heads to the Senate.
Making Election Day a state holiday
Wilcox also wants to make Election Day in Utah a holiday. While he initially sought to give Utahns the day off to vote – and get paid to do so – others weren’t on board.
Instead, the bill would be a commemorative holiday. People wouldn’t get the day off, but it would be on the books as a holiday. Think of it like another version of “National Hot Dog Day.”
HB351 passed the House and is on the way to the Senate.
Lawmakers have until March 7 to finish their work for the 2025 legislative session.
This story is based on reporting from the latest episode of State Street, “Mr. Postman, are there vote by mail changes for me?” Listen wherever you get your podcasts.
