Utah Statutes § 20A-7-603 Manual referendum process - Form of referendum petition and signature sheet

Statute Text

(1) This section applies only to the manual referendum process.

(2)

(a) Each proposed referendum petition shall be printed in substantially the following form:

"REFERENDUM PETITION To the Honorable ____, County Clerk/City Recorder/Town Clerk:

We, the undersigned citizens of Utah, respectfully order that (description of local law or portion of local law being challenged), passed by the ____ be referred to the voters for their approval or rejection at the regular/municipal general election to be held on __________(month\day\year);

Each signer says:

I have personally signed this referendum petition or, if I am an individual with a qualifying disability, I have signed this referendum petition by directing the signature gatherer to enter the initials "AV" as my signature;

The date next to my signature correctly reflects the date that I actually signed the petition;

I have personally read the entire statement included with this packet;

I am registered to vote in Utah; and

My residence and post office address are written correctly after my name."

(b) The sponsors of a referendum or an agent of the sponsors shall attach a copy of the law that is the subject of the referendum to each referendum petition.

(3) Each referendum signature sheet shall:

(a) be printed on sheets of paper 8-1/2 inches long and 11 inches wide;

(b) be ruled with a horizontal line three-fourths inch from the top, with the space above that line blank for the purpose of binding;

(d) include a table immediately below the title of the referendum, and beginning .5 inch from the left side of the paper, as follows:

(i) the first column shall be .5 inch wide and include three rows;

(ii) the first row of the first column shall be .85 inch tall and contain the words "For Office Use Only" in 10-point type;

(iii) the second row of the first column shall be .35 inch tall;

(iv) the third row of the first column shall be .5 inch tall;

(v) the second column shall be 2.75 inches wide;

(vi) the first row of the second column shall be .35 inch tall and contain the words "Registered Voter's Printed Name (must be legible to be counted)" in 10-point type;

(vii) the second row of the second column shall be .5 inch tall;

(viii) the third row of the second column shall be .35 inch tall and contain the words "Street Address, City, Zip Code" in 10-point type;

(ix) the fourth row of the second column shall be .5 inch tall;

(x) the third column shall be 2.75 inches wide;

(xi) the first row of the third column shall be .35 inch tall and contain the words "Signature of Registered Voter" in 10-point type;

(xii) the second row of the third column shall be .5 inch tall;

(xiii) the third row of the third column shall be .35 inch tall and contain the words "Email Address (optional, to receive additional information)" in 10-point type;

(xiv) the fourth row of the third column shall be .5 inch tall;

(xv) the fourth column shall be one inch wide;

(xvi) the first row of the fourth column shall be .35 inch tall and contain the words "Date Signed" in 10-point type;

(xvii) the second row of the fourth column shall be .5 inch tall;

(xviii) the third row of the fourth column shall be .35 inch tall and contain the words "Birth Date or Age (optional)" in 10-point type;

(xix) the fourth row of the third column shall be .5 inch tall; and

(xx) the fifth row of the entire table shall be the width of the entire table, .4 inch tall, and contain the following words, "By signing this referendum petition, you are stating that you have read and understand the law that this referendum petition seeks to overturn." in 12-point type;

(e) the table described in Subsection (3)(d) shall be repeated, leaving sufficient room at the bottom of the sheet or the information described in Subsection (3)(f); and

(f) at the bottom of the sheet, include the word "Warning," in 12-point, bold type, followed by the following statement in not less than eight-point type:

"It is a class A misdemeanor for an individual to sign a referendum petition with a name other than the individual's own name, or to knowingly sign the individual's name more than once for the same referendum petition, or to sign a referendum petition when the individual knows that the individual is not a registered voter.

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 verified as a valid signature if you change your address before petition signatures are verified or if the information you provide does not match your voter registration records."

(4) The final page of each referendum packet shall contain the following printed or typed statement:

"Verification of signature collector

State of Utah, County of ____

I, _______________, of ____, hereby state, under penalty of perjury, that:

I am at least 18 years old;

All the names that appear in this packet were signed by individuals who professed to be the individuals whose names appear in it, and each of the individuals signed the individual's name on it in my presence or, in the case of an individual with a qualifying disability, I have signed this referendum petition on the individual's behalf, at the direction of the individual and in the individual's presence, by entering the initials "AV" as the individual's signature;

I certify that, for each individual whose signature is represented in this referendum packet by the initials "AV":

I obtained the individual's voluntary direction or consent to sign the referendum petition on the individual's behalf;

I do not believe, or have reason to believe, that the individual lacked the mental capacity to give direction or consent;

I do not believe, or have reason to believe, that the individual did not understand the purpose or nature of my signing the referendum petition on the individual's behalf;

I did not intentionally or knowingly deceive the individual into directing me to, or consenting for me to, sign the referendum petition on the individual's behalf; and

I did not intentionally or knowingly enter false information on the signature sheet;

I did not knowingly make a misrepresentation of fact concerning the law this petition seeks to overturn; and

I believe that each individual's name, post office address, and residence is written correctly, that each signer has read the law that the referendum seeks to overturn, and that each signer is registered to vote in Utah.

________________________________________________________________________

(Name)

(Residence Address) (Date)

The correct date of signature appears next to each individual's name. I have not paid or given anything of value to any individual who signed this referendum packet to encourage that individual to sign it.

_____________________________________________________________________

(Name)

(Residence Address) (Date)".

(5) If the forms described in this section are substantially followed, the referendum petitions are sufficient, notwithstanding clerical and merely technical errors.

History

Amended by Chapter 442 , 2024 General Session , § 26 , eff. 5/1/2024 .

Amended by Chapter 17 , 2024 General Session , § 8 , eff. 2/28/2024 .

Amended by Chapter 107 , 2023 General Session , § 62 , eff. 5/3/2023 .

Amended by Chapter 325 , 2022 General Session , § 43 , eff. 1/1/2023 .

Amended by Chapter 418 , 2021 General Session , § 22 , eff. 5/5/2021 , coordination clause.

Amended by Chapter 418 , 2021 General Session , § 18 , eff. 5/5/2021 .

Amended by Chapter 140 , 2021 General Session , § 38 , eff. 5/5/2021 .

Amended by Chapter 203 , 2019 General Session , § 28 , eff. 5/14/2019 .

Amended by Chapter 365 , 2016 General Session , § 6 , eff. 5/10/2016 .

Amended by Chapter 329 , 2014 General Session , § 4 , eff. 5/13/2014 .

Amended by Chapter 72 , 2012 General Session , § 8 , eff. 5/8/2012 .

Amended by Chapter 78 , 2007 General Session

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Prior Versions of This Statute

Version of § 20A-7-603 dated 10/30/2024