H.B. 378

1

ELECTION REVISIONS
2 2013 GENERAL SESSION
3 STATE OF UTAH
4 Chief Sponsor: Craig Hall
5 Senate Sponsor: ____________
6
7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill modifies the Election Code by amending provisional ballot provisions.
10 Highlighted Provisions:
11 This bill:
12 . amends provisions for a poll worker to provide a provisional ballot to a voter who
13 may not live in the voting precinct but is a resident of the county;
14 . amends standards for counting votes on a ballot to provide for a voter using a ballot
15 that is prepared for a different voting precinct;
16 . amends provisions that determine when a provisional ballot cast outside of the
17 person's precinct of residence is counted by removing the provision that the
18 provisional ballot is counted only if the entire ballot is identical to the person's
19 precinct of residence and changing the provision to require that the ballot is from
20 the person's county of residence and that specific votes on a provisional ballot that
21 are for candidate races or ballot propositions for which the voter is entitled to vote
22 are counted;
23 . amends provisions allowing a voter to have a provisional ballot used as a voter
24 registration form in the voter's county of residence; and
25 . makes technical changes.
26 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
27 None

28 Other Special Clauses:
29 None
30 Utah Code Sections Affected:
31 AMENDS:
32 20A-3-105.5, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2010, Chapter 83
33 20A-4-105, as last amended by Laws of Utah 1999, Chapter 56
34 20A-4-107, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2011, Chapters 291, 335 and last
35 amended by Coordination Clause, Laws of Utah 2011, Chapter 291
36
37 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
38 Section 1. Section 20A-3-105.5 is amended to read:
39 20A-3-105.5. Manner of voting -- Provisional ballot.
40 (1) The poll workers shall follow the procedures and requirements of this section
41 when:
42 (a) the person's right to vote is challenged as provided in Section 20A-3-202 or
43 20A-3-202.5 ;
44 (b) the person's name is not found on the official register; or
45 (c) the poll worker is not satisfied that the voter has provided valid voter identification.
46 (2) When faced with one of the circumstances outlined in Subsection (1)(a) or (b), the
47 poll worker shall:
48 (a) request that the person provide valid voter identification; and
49 (b) review the identification provided by the person.
50 (3) If the poll worker is satisfied that the person has provided valid voter identification
51 that establishes the person's identity and residence in the voting precinct or within the county:
52 (a) the poll worker in charge of the official register shall:
53 (i) record in the official register the type of identification that established the person's
54 identity and place of residence;
55 (ii) write the provisional ballot envelope number opposite the name of the voter in the
56 official register; and
57 (iii) direct the voter to sign his name in the election column in the official register;
58 (b) another poll worker shall list the ballot number and voter's name in the pollbook;

59 and
60 (c) the poll worker having charge of the ballots shall:
61 (i) endorse his initials on the stub;
62 (ii) check the name of the voter on the pollbook list with the number of the stub;
63 (iii) give the voter a ballot and a provisional ballot envelope; and
64 (iv) allow the voter to enter the voting booth.
65 (4) If the poll worker is not satisfied that the voter has provided valid voter
66 identification that establishes the person's identity and residence in the voting precinct or
67 within the county:
68 (a) the poll worker in charge of the official register shall:
69 (i) record in the official register that the voter did not provide valid voter identification;
70 (ii) record in the official register the type of identification that was provided by the
71 voter, if any;
72 (iii) write the provisional ballot envelope number opposite the name of the voter in the
73 official register; and
74 (iv) direct the voter to sign his name in the election column in the official register;
75 (b) another poll worker shall list the ballot number and voter's name in the pollbook;
76 and
77 (c) the poll worker having charge of the ballots shall:
78 (i) endorse his initials on the stub;
79 (ii) check the name of the voter on the pollbook list with the number of the stub;
80 (iii) give the voter a ballot and a provisional ballot envelope; and
81 (iv) allow the voter to enter the voting booth.
82 (5) Whenever the election officer is required to furnish more than one kind of official
83 ballot to a voting precinct, the poll workers of that voting precinct shall give the registered
84 voter the kind of ballot that the voter is qualified to vote.
85 Section 2. Section 20A-4-105 is amended to read:
86 20A-4-105. Standards and requirements for evaluating voter's ballot choices.
87 (1) Each person counting ballots shall apply the standards and requirements of this
88 section to resolve any questions that arise as ballots are counted.
89 (2) Except as provided in Subsection (11), if a voter marks more names than there are

90 persons to be elected to an office, or if for any reason it is impossible to determine the choice
91 of any voter for any office to be filled, the counter may not count that voter's ballot for that
92 office.
93 (3) The counter shall count a defective or incomplete mark on any paper ballot if:
94 (a) it is in the proper place; and
95 (b) there is no other mark or cross on the paper ballot indicating the voter's intent to
96 vote other than as indicated by the defective mark.
97 (4) (a) When the voter has marked the ballot so that it appears that the voter has voted
98 more than one straight ticket, the election judges may not count any votes for party candidates.
99 (b) The election judges shall count the remainder of the ballot if it is voted correctly.
100 (5) A counter may not reject a ballot marked by the voter because of marks on the
101 ballot other than those marks allowed by this section unless the extraneous marks on a ballot or
102 group of ballots show an intent by a person or group to mark their ballots so that their ballots
103 can be identified.
104 (6) (a) In counting the ballots, the counters shall give full consideration to the intent of
105 the voter.
106 (b) The counters may not invalidate a ballot because of mechanical and technical
107 defects in voting or failure on the part of the voter to follow strictly the rules for balloting
108 required by Chapter 3.
109 (7) The counters may not reject a ballot because of any error in:
110 (a) stamping or writing any official endorsement; or
111 (b) delivering the wrong ballots to any polling place.
112 (8) The counter may not count any paper ballot that does not have the official
113 endorsement by an election officer.
114 (9) The counter may not count any ballot proposition vote or candidate vote for which
115 the voter is not "legally entitled to vote" as used in Section 20A-4-107 .
116 [(9)] (10) If the counter discovers that the name of a candidate voted for is misspelled
117 or that the initial letters of a candidate's given name are transposed or omitted in part or
118 altogether, the counter shall count the voter's vote for that candidate if it is apparent that the
119 voter intended to vote for that candidate.
120 [(10)] (11) The counter shall count a vote for the president and the vice president of

121 any political party as a vote for the presidential electors selected by the political party.
122 [(11)] (12) In counting the valid write-in votes, if, by casting a valid write-in vote, a
123 voter has cast more votes for an office than that voter is entitled to vote for that office, the
124 judges shall count the valid write-in vote as being the obvious intent of the voter.
125 Section 3. Section 20A-4-107 is amended to read:
126 20A-4-107. Review and disposition of provisional ballot envelopes.
127 (1) As used in this section, a person is "legally entitled to vote" if:
128 (a) the person:
129 (i) is registered to vote in the state;
130 (ii) votes the ballot for the voting precinct in which the person resides; and
131 (iii) provided valid voter identification to the poll worker;
132 (b) the person:
133 (i) is registered to vote in the state;
134 (ii) (A) provided valid voter identification to the poll worker; or
135 (B) either failed to provide valid voter identification or the documents provided as
136 valid voter identification were inadequate and the poll worker recorded that fact in the official
137 register but the county clerk verifies the person's identity and residence through some other
138 means; and
139 (iii) did not vote in the person's precinct of residence, but the ballot that the person
140 voted [is identical to] was from the person's county of residence and includes one or more
141 candidates or ballot propositions on the ballot voted in the person's precinct of residence; or
142 (c) the person:
143 (i) is registered to vote in the state;
144 (ii) either failed to provide valid voter identification or the documents provided as
145 valid voter identification were inadequate and the poll worker recorded that fact in the official
146 register; and
147 (iii) (A) the county clerk verifies the person's identity and residence through some other
148 means as reliable as photo identification; or
149 (B) the person provides valid voter identification to the county clerk or an election
150 officer who is administering the election by the close of normal office hours on Monday after
151 the date of the election.

152 (2) (a) Upon receipt of provisional ballot envelopes, the election officer shall review
153 the affirmation on the face of each provisional ballot envelope and determine if the person
154 signing the affirmation is:
155 (i) registered to vote in this state; and
156 (ii) legally entitled to vote:
157 (A) the ballot that the person voted[.]; or
158 (B) if the ballot is from the person's county of residence, for at least one ballot
159 proposition or candidate on the ballot that the person voted.
160 (b) If the election officer determines that the person is not registered to vote in this
161 state or is not legally entitled to vote in the county or for any of the ballot propositions or
162 candidates on the ballot that the person voted, the election officer shall retain the ballot
163 envelope, unopened, for the period specified in Section 20A-4-202 unless ordered by a court to
164 produce or count it.
165 (c) If the election officer determines that the person is registered to vote in this state
166 and is legally entitled to vote in the county and for at least one of the ballot propositions or
167 candidates on the ballot that the person voted, the election officer shall remove the ballot from
168 the provisional ballot envelope and place the ballot with the absentee ballots to be counted with
169 those ballots at the canvass.
170 (d) The election officer may not count, or allow to be counted a provisional ballot
171 unless the person's identity and residence is established by a preponderance of the evidence.
172 (3) If the election officer determines that the person is registered to vote in this state,
173 the election officer shall ensure that the voter registration records are updated to reflect the
174 information provided on the provisional ballot envelope.
175 (4) If the election officer determines that the person is not registered to vote in this
176 state and the information on the provisional ballot envelope is complete, the election officer
177 shall:
178 (a) consider the provisional ballot envelope a voter registration form for the person's
179 county of residence; and
180 (b) (i) register the person[.] if the voter's county of residence is within the county; or
181 (ii) forward the voter registration form to the election officer of the person's county of
182 residence, which election officer shall register the person.

Legislative Review Note
as of 2-26-13 6:00 PM

Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel

[Bill Documents]