Utah Statutes § 20A-9-405 Nomination petitions for regular primary elections

Statute Text

(1) This section applies to the form and circulation of nomination petitions for regular primary elections described in Subsection 20A-9-403 (3)(a) .

(2) A candidate for elective office, and the agents of the candidate, may not circulate nomination petitions until the candidate has submitted a declaration of candidacy in accordance with Subsection 20A-9-202 (1) .

(3) For the manual candidate qualification process, the nomination petitions shall be in substantially the following form:

(a) the petition shall be printed on paper 8-1/2 inches long and 11 inches wide;

(b) the petition shall be ruled with a horizontal line 3/4 inch from the top, with the space above that line blank for purposes of binding;

(c) the petition shall be headed by a caption stating the purpose of the petition and the name of the proposed candidate;

(d) the petition shall feature the word "Warning" followed by the following statement in no less than eight-point, single leaded type: "It is a class A misdemeanor for anyone to knowingly sign a nomination petition 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.";

(e) the petition shall feature 10 lines spaced one-half inch apart and consecutively numbered one through 10;

(f) the signature portion of the petition shall be divided into columns headed by the following titles:

(i) Registered Voter's Printed Name;

(ii) Signature of Registered Voter;

(iii) Party Affiliation of Registered Voter;

(iv) Birth Date or Age (Optional);

(v) Street Address, City, Zip Code; and

(vi) Date of Signature; and

(g) a photograph of the candidate may appear on the nomination petition.

(4) For the electronic candidate qualification process, the lieutenant governor shall design an electronic form, using progressive screens, that includes:

(a) the following warning:

"Warning: It is a class A misdemeanor for anyone to knowingly sign a nomination petition 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

(b) the following information for each individual who signs the petition:

(i) name;

(ii) party affiliation;

(iii) date of birth or age, (optional);

(iv) street address, city, zip code;

(v) date of signature;

(vi) other information required under Section 20A-21-201 ; and

(vii) other information required by the lieutenant governor.

(5) For the manual candidate qualification process, if one or more nomination petitions are bound together, a page shall be bound to the nomination petition(s) that features the following printed verification statement to be signed and dated by the petition circulator:

"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, to the best of my knowledge, signed by the 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."

(6) The lieutenant governor shall prepare and make public model nomination petition forms and associated instructions.

(7) A nomination petition circulator must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the state, but may affiliate with any political party.

(8) It is unlawful for any person to:

(a) knowingly sign the nomination petition described in this section or Section 20A-9-408 :

(i) with any name other than the person's own name;

(ii) more than once for the same candidate; or

(iii) if the person is not registered to vote in this state;

(b) sign the verification of a signature for a nomination petition if the person:

(i) does not meet the residency requirements of Section 20A-2-105 ;

(ii) has not witnessed the signing by those persons whose names appear on the nomination petition; or

(iii) knows that a person whose signature appears on the nomination petition is not registered to vote in this state;

(d) pay compensation to any person to circulate a nomination petition, if the compensation is based directly on the number of signatures submitted to a filing officer rather than on the number of signatures verified or on some other basis.

(9) Any person violating Subsection (8) is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

(10) Withdrawal of petition signatures is prohibited.

History

Amended by Chapter 325 , 2022 General Session , § 58 , eff. 1/1/2023 .

Amended by Chapter 281 , 2018 General Session , § 26 , eff. 5/8/2018 .

Added by Chapter 17 , 2014 General Session , § 14 , eff. 1/1/2015 .

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