Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 107 Third Substitute (2024GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Weiler, T.

Final action

Governor Signed 2/28/2024

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Spencer J. Cox

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• expands the time period within which a candidate for public office who is not affiliated with a political party may file a certificate of nomination with a filing officer; and
• makes technical and conforming changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

UNAFFILIATED CANDIDATE AMENDMENTS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Todd D. Weiler
House Sponsor: 
____________
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill modifies the filing period for a candidate for public office who is not affiliated
with a political party.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ expands the time period within which a candidate for public office who is not
affiliated with a political party may file a certificate of nomination with a filing
officer; and
▸ makes technical and conforming changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
20A-9-502
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 116
20A-9-503
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2023, Chapter 15
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
20A-9-502
 is amended to read:
20A-9-502.
Certificate of nomination -- Contents -- Circulation -- Verification --
Criminal penalty -- Removal of petition signature.
(1) The candidate shall:
(a) prepare a certificate of nomination in substantially the following form:
"State of Utah, County of ______________________________________________
I, ______________, declare my intention of becoming an unaffiliated candidate for the
political group designated as ____ for the office of ____. I do solemnly swear that I can
qualify to hold that office both legally and constitutionally if selected, and that I reside at ____
Street, in the city of ____, county of ____, state of ______, zip code ____, phone ____, and
that I am providing, or have provided, the required number of holographic signatures of
registered voters required by law; that as a candidate at the next election I will not knowingly
violate any election or campaign law; that, if filing via a designated agent for an office other
than president of the United States, I will be out of the state of Utah during the entire candidate
filing period; I will file all campaign financial disclosure reports as required by law; and I
understand that failure to do so will result in my disqualification as a candidate for this office
and removal of my name from the ballot.
__________________________________________
Subscribed and sworn to before me this ______(month\day\year).
__________________________________________
Notary Public (or other officer
qualified to administer oaths)";
(b) bind signature sheets to the certificate that:
(i) are printed on sheets of paper 8-1/2 inches long and 11 inches wide;
(ii) are ruled with a horizontal line 3/4 inch from the top, with the space above that line
blank for the purpose of binding;
(iii) contain the name of the proposed candidate and the words "Unaffiliated Candidate
Certificate of Nomination Petition" printed directly below the horizontal line;
(iv) contain the word "Warning" printed directly under the words described in
Subsection (1)(b)(iii);
(v) contain, to the right of the word "Warning," the following statement printed in not
less than eight-point, single leaded type:
"It is a class A misdemeanor for anyone to knowingly sign a certificate of nomination
signature sheet with any name other than the person's own name or more than once for the
same candidate or if the person is not registered to vote in this state and does not intend to
become registered to vote in this state before the county clerk certifies the signatures.";
(vi) contain the following statement directly under the statement described in
Subsection (1)(b)(v):
"Each signer says:
I have personally signed this petition with a holographic signature;
I am registered to vote in Utah or intend to become registered to vote in Utah before the
county clerk certifies my signature; and
My street address is written correctly after my name.";
(vii) contain horizontally ruled lines, 3/8 inch apart under the statement described in
Subsection (1)(b)(vi); and
(viii) be vertically divided into columns as follows:
(A) the first column shall appear at the extreme left of the sheet, be 5/8 inch wide, be
headed with "For Office Use Only," and be subdivided with a light vertical line down the
middle;
(B) the next column shall be 2-1/2 inches wide, headed "Registered Voter's Printed
Name (must be legible to be counted)";
(C) the next column shall be 2-1/2 inches wide, headed "Holographic Signature of
Registered Voter";
(D) the next column shall be one inch wide, headed "Birth Date or Age (Optional)";
(E) the final column shall be 4-3/8 inches wide, headed "Street Address, City, Zip
Code"; and
(F) at the bottom of the sheet, contain the following statement: "Birth date or age
information is not required, but it may be used to verify your identity with voter registration
records. If you choose not to provide it, your signature may not be certified as a valid signature
if you change your address before petition signatures are certified or if the information you
provide does not match your voter registration records."; and
(c) bind a final page to one or more signature sheets that are bound together that
contains, except as provided by Subsection (3), the following printed statement:
"Verification
State of Utah, County of ____
I, _______________, of ____, hereby state that:
I am a Utah resident and am at least 18 years old;
All the names that appear on the signature sheets bound to this page were signed by
persons who professed to be the persons whose names appear on the signature sheets, and each
of them signed the person's name on the signature sheets in my presence;
I believe that each has printed and signed the person's name and written the person's
street address correctly, and that each signer is registered to vote in Utah or will register to vote
in Utah before the county clerk certifies the signatures on the signature sheet.
______________________________________________________________________
(Signature) (Residence Address) (Date)".
(2) An agent designated to file a certificate of nomination under Subsection
20A-9-503
(2)(b) 
or (4)(b)
 may not sign the form described in Subsection (1)(a).
(3) (a) The candidate shall circulate the nomination petition and ensure that the person
in whose presence each signature sheet is signed:
(i) is at least 18 years old;
(ii) except as provided by Subsection (3)(b), meets the residency requirements of
Section 
20A-2-105
; and
(iii) verifies each signature sheet by completing the verification bound to one or more
signature sheets that are bound together.
(b) A person who is not a resident may sign the verification on a 
nomination
 petition
for an unaffiliated candidate for the office of president of the United States.
(c) A person may not sign the verification if the person signed a signature sheet bound
to the verification.
(4) (a) It is unlawful for any person to:
(i) knowingly sign a certificate of nomination signature sheet:
(A) with any name other than the person's own name;
(B) more than once for the same candidate; or
(C) if the person is not registered to vote in this state and does not intend to become
registered to vote in this state before the county clerk certifies the signatures; or
(ii) sign the verification of a certificate of nomination signature sheet if the person:
(A) except as provided by Subsection (3)(b), does not meet the residency requirements
of Section 
20A-2-105
;
(B) has not witnessed the signing by those persons whose names appear on the
certificate of nomination signature sheet; or
(C) knows that a person whose signature appears on the certificate of nomination
signature sheet is not registered to vote in this state and does not intend to become registered to
vote in this state.
(b) Any person violating this Subsection (4) is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.
(5) (a) The candidate shall submit the 
nomination
 petition and signature sheets to the
county clerk for certification when the 
nomination
 petition has been completed by:
(i) at least 1,000 registered voters residing within the state when the nomination is for
an office to be filled by the voters of the entire state; or
(ii) at least 300 registered voters residing within a political division or at least 5% of
the registered voters residing within a political division, whichever is less, when the
nomination is for an office to be filled by the voters of any political division smaller than the
state.
(b) In reviewing the 
nomination
 petition, the county clerk shall count and certify only
those persons who signed the 
nomination
 petition with a holographic signature who:
(i) are registered voters within the political division that the candidate seeks to
represent; and
(ii) did not sign any other certificate of nomination for that office.
(c) The candidate may supplement or amend the certificate of nomination at any time
on or before the filing deadline.
(d) The county clerk shall use the procedures described in Section 
20A-1-1002
 to
determine whether a signer is a registered voter who is qualified to sign the 
nomination
petition.
(6) (a) A voter who signs a nomination petition under this section may have the voter's
signature removed from the 
nomination
 petition by, no later than three business days after the
day on which the candidate submits the 
nomination
 petition to the county clerk, submitting to
the county clerk a statement requesting that the voter's signature be removed.
(b) A statement described in Subsection (6)(a) shall comply with the requirements
described in Subsection 
20A-1-1003
(2).
(c) The county clerk shall use the procedures described in Subsection 
20A-1-1003
(3) to
determine whether to remove an individual's signature from a 
nomination
 petition after
receiving a timely, valid statement requesting removal of the signature.
Section 2. Section 
20A-9-503
 is amended to read:
20A-9-503.
Certificate of nomination -- Filing -- Fees.
(1) [
Except as provided in Subsection (1)(b), after
] 
After
 the certificate of nomination
has been certified, executed, and acknowledged by the county clerk, the candidate shall[
:
]
, no
earlier than the start of the declaration of candidacy period described in Section 
20A-9-201.5
and no later than the close of normal office hours on June 15 of the year in which the election
will be held:
(a) file the nomination petition in person with:
(i) the lieutenant governor, if the office the candidate seeks is:
(A) president of the United States; or
(B) a constitutional office or a federal office;
(ii) the county clerk, if the office the candidate seeks is a county office;
(iii) the municipal clerk, if the candidate seeks an office in a city or town; or
(iv) the special district clerk, if the candidate seeks an office in a special district; and
(b) pay the filing fee.
[
(a) (i) file the petition in person with the lieutenant governor, if the office the
candidate seeks is a constitutional office or a federal office, or the county clerk, if the office the
candidate seeks is a county office, during the declaration of candidacy filing period described
in Section 
20A-9-201.5
; and
]
[
(ii) pay the filing fee; or
]
[
(b) not later than the close of normal office hours on June 15 of any odd-numbered
year:
]
[
(i) file the petition in person with the municipal clerk, if the candidate seeks an office
in a city or town, or the special district clerk, if the candidate seeks an office in a special
district; and
]
[
(ii) pay the filing fee.
]
(2) (a) The provisions of this Subsection (2) do not apply to an individual who files a
[
declaration of candidacy
] 
certificate of nomination
 for president of the United States.
(b) Subject to Subsections [
(4)(c)
] 
(5)
 and 
20A-9-502
(2), an individual may designate
an agent to file a [
declaration of candidacy
] 
certificate of nomination
 with the appropriate filing
officer if:
(i) the individual is located outside of the state during the entire filing period;
(ii) the designated agent appears in person before the filing officer; and
(iii) the individual communicates with the filing officer using an electronic device that
allows the individual and filing officer to see and hear each other.
(3) (a) At the time of filing, and before accepting the 
nomination
 petition, the filing
officer shall read the constitutional and statutory requirements for candidacy to the candidate.
(b) If the candidate states that the candidate does not meet the requirements, the filing
officer may not accept the 
nomination
 petition.
(4) An individual filing a certificate of nomination for president of the United States
under this section:
(a) shall pay a filing fee of $500; and
(b) may use a designated agent to file the nomination petition.
(5) An agent designated to file a certificate of nomination under Subsection (2)(b) or
(4)(b) may not sign the certificate of nomination form.
[
(4) (a) An individual filing a certificate of nomination for president or vice president
of the United States under this section shall pay a filing fee of $500.
]
[
(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (1), an individual filing a certificate of nomination for
president or vice president of the United States:
]
[
(i) may file the certificate of nomination during the declaration of candidacy filing
period described in Section 
20A-9-201.5
; and
]
[
(ii) may use a designated agent to file the certificate of nomination.
]
[
(c) An agent designated under Subsection (2) or described in Subsection (4)(b)(ii) may
not sign the certificate of nomination form.
]
Section 3. 
Effective date.
If approved by two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, this bill takes effect
upon approval by the governor, or the day following the constitutional time limit of Utah
Constitution, Article VII, Section 8, without the governor's signature, or in the case of a veto,
the date of veto override.