Section 2. Section 20A-9-408 is amended to read:20A-9-408. Signature-gathering process to seek the nomination of a qualified political party -- Removal of signature.(1)This section describes the requirements for a member of a qualified political party who is seeking the nomination of the qualified political party for an elective office through the signature-gathering process described in this section.(2)Notwithstanding Subsection 20A-9-201(7)(a), the form of the declaration of candidacy for a member of a qualified political party who is nominated by, or who is seeking the nomination of, the qualified political party under this section shall be substantially as described in Section 20A-9-408.5.(3)Notwithstanding Subsection 20A-9-202(1)(a), and except as provided in Subsection 20A-9-202(4), a member of a qualified political party who, under this section, is seeking the nomination of the qualified political party for an elective office that is to be filled at the next general election shall:(a)except to the extent otherwise provided in Subsection (13)(a), during the applicable declaration of candidacy filing period described in Section 20A-9-201.5, and before gathering signatures under this section, file with the filing officer on a form approved by the lieutenant governor a notice of intent to gather signatures for candidacy that includes:(i)the name of the member who will attempt to become a candidate for a registered political party under this section;(ii)the name of the registered political party for which the member is seeking nomination;(iii)the office for which the member is seeking to become a candidate;(iv)the address and telephone number of the member; and(v)other information required by the lieutenant governor;(b)except as provided in Subsection 20A-9-202(1)(c), file a declaration of candidacy, in person, with the filing officer during the applicable declaration of candidacy filing period described in Section 20A-9-201.5; and(c)pay the filing fee.(4)Notwithstanding Subsection 20A-9-202(2)(a), a member of a qualified political party who, under this section, is seeking the nomination of the qualified political party for the office of district attorney within a multicounty prosecution district that is to be filled at the next general election shall:(a)during the applicable declaration of candidacy filing period described in Section 20A-9-201.5, and before gathering signatures under this section, file with the filing officer on a form approved by the lieutenant governor a notice of intent to gather signatures for candidacy that includes:(i)the name of the member who will attempt to become a candidate for a registered political party under this section;(ii)the name of the registered political party for which the member is seeking nomination;(iii)the office for which the member is seeking to become a candidate;(iv)the address and telephone number of the member; and(v)other information required by the lieutenant governor;(b)except as provided in Subsection 20A-9-202(1)(c), file a declaration of candidacy, in person, with the filing officer during the applicable declaration of candidacy filing period described in Section 20A-9-201.5; and(c)pay the filing fee.(5)Notwithstanding Subsection 20A-9-202(3)(a)(iii), a lieutenant governor candidate who files as the joint-ticket running mate of an individual who is nominated by a qualified political party, under this section, for the office of governor shall, during the applicable declaration of candidacy filing period described in Section 20A-9-201.5, file a declaration of candidacy and submit a letter from the candidate for governor that names the lieutenant governor candidate as a joint-ticket running mate.(6)The lieutenant governor shall ensure that the certification described in Subsection 20A-9-701(1) also includes the name of each candidate nominated by a qualified political party under this section.(7)Notwithstanding Subsection 20A-9-701(2), the ballot shall, for each candidate who is nominated by a qualified political party under this section, designate the qualified political party that nominated the candidate.(8)A member of a qualified political party may seek the nomination of the qualified political party for an elective office by:(a)complying with the requirements described in this section; and(b)collecting signatures, on a form approved by the lieutenant governor that complies with Subsection 20A-9-405(3), during the period beginning on the day on which the member files a notice of intent to gather signatures and ending at the applicable deadline described in Subsection (12), in the following amounts:(i)for a statewide race, 28,000 signatures of registered voters in the state who are permitted by the qualified political party to vote for the qualified political party's candidates in a primary election;(ii)except as provided in Subsection (13)(b), for a congressional district race, 7,000 signatures of registered voters who are residents of the congressional district and are permitted by the qualified political party to vote for the qualified political party's candidates in a primary election;(iii)for a state Senate district race, 2,000 signatures of registered voters who are residents of the state Senate district and are permitted by the qualified political party to vote for the qualified political party's candidates in a primary election;(iv)for a state House district race, 1,000 signatures of registered voters who are residents of the state House district and are permitted by the qualified political party to vote for the qualified political party's candidates in a primary election;(v)for a State Board of Education race, the lesser of:(A)2,000 signatures of registered voters who are residents of the State Board of Education district and are permitted by the qualified political party to vote for the qualified political party's candidates in a primary election; or(B)3% of the registered voters of the qualified political party who are residents of the applicable State Board of Education district; and(vi)for a county office race, signatures of 3% of the registered voters who are residents of the area permitted to vote for the county office and are permitted by the qualified political party to vote for the qualified political party's candidates in a primary election.(9)(a)This Subsection (9) applies only to the manual candidate qualification process.(b)In order for a member of the qualified political party to qualify as a candidate for the qualified political party's nomination for an elective office under this section, using the manual candidate qualification process, the member shall:(i)collect the signatures on a form approved by the lieutenant governor, using the same circulation and verification requirements described in Sections 20A-7-105 and 20A-7-204; and(ii)in accordance with Section 20A-9-408.3, submit the signatures to the election officer before the applicable deadline described in Subsection (12).(c)Upon timely receipt of the signatures described in Subsections (8) and (9)(b), and in accordance with Section 20A-9-408.3, the election officer shall, no later than the earlier of 14 calendar days after the day on which the election officer receives the signatures, or one day before the day on which the qualified political party holds the convention to select a nominee for the elective office to which the signature packets relate:(i)check the name of each individual who completes the verification for a signature packet to determine whether each individual is at least 18 years old;(ii)submit the name of each individual described in Subsection (9)(c)(i) who is not at least 18 years old to the attorney general and the county attorney;(iii)with the assistance of the county clerk as applicable, determine whether each signer is a registered voter who is qualified to sign the petition, using the same method, described in Section 20A-1-1002, used to verify a signature on a petition; and(iv)certify whether each name is that of a registered voter who is qualified to sign the signature packet.(d)(i)A registered voter who physically signs a form under Subsections (8) and (9)(b) may have the voter's signature removed from the form by, no later than 5 p.m. three business days after the day on which the member submits the signature form to the election officer, submitting to the election officer a statement requesting that the voter's signature be removed.(ii)A statement described in Subsection (9)(d)(i) shall comply with the requirements described in Subsection 20A-1-1003(2).(iii)With the assistance of the county clerk as applicable, the election officer shall use the procedures described in Subsection 20A-1-1003(3) to determine whether to remove an individual's signature after receiving a timely, valid statement requesting removal of the signature.(e)(i)An election officer shall, in accordance with this Subsection (9)(e) and rules made under Section 20A-3a-106, conduct regular audits of signature comparisons made between signatures gathered under this section and voter signatures maintained by the election officer.(ii)An individual who conducts an audit of signature comparisons under this section may not audit the individual's own work.(iii)The election officer shall:(A)audit 1% of all signature comparisons described in Subsection (9)(e)(i) to determine the accuracy of the comparisons made;(B)record the individuals who conducted the audit;(C)record the audit results;(D)provide additional training or staff reassignments, as needed, based on the results of an audit described in Subsection (9)(e)(i); and(E)record any remedial action taken.(iv)The audit results described in Subsection (9)(e)(iii)(C) are a public record.(f)An election officer who certifies signatures under Subsection (9)(c) or 20A-9-403(3)(d) shall, after certifying enough signatures to establish that a candidate has reached the applicable signature threshold described in Subsection (8) or 20A-9-403(3)(a), as applicable, continue to certify signatures submitted for the candidate in excess of the number of signatures required, until the election officer either:(i)certifies signatures equal to 110% of the applicable signature threshold; or(ii)has reviewed all signatures submitted for the candidate before reaching an amount equal to 110% of the applicable signature threshold.(10)(a)This Subsection (10) applies only to the electronic candidate qualification process.(b)In order for a member of the qualified political party to qualify as a candidate for the qualified political party's nomination for an elective office under this section, the member shall, before the deadline described in Subsection (12), collect signatures electronically:(i)in accordance with Section 20A-21-201; and(ii)using progressive screens, in a format approved by the lieutenant governor, that complies with Subsection 20A-9-405(4).(c)Upon timely receipt of the signatures described in Subsections (8) and (9)(b), the election officer shall, no later than the earlier of 14 calendar days after the day on which the election officer receives the signatures, or one day before the day on which the qualified political party holds the convention to select a nominee for the elective office to which the signature packets relate:(i)check the name of each individual who completes the verification for a signature to determine whether each individual is at least 18 years old; and(ii)submit the name of each individual described in Subsection (10)(c)(i) who is not at least 18 years old to the attorney general and the county attorney.(11)(a)An individual may not gather signatures under this section until after the individual files a notice of intent to gather signatures for candidacy described in this section.(b)An individual who files a notice of intent to gather signatures for candidacy, described in Subsection (3)(a) or (4)(a), is, beginning on the day on which the individual files the notice of intent to gather signatures for candidacy:(i)required to comply with the reporting requirements that a candidate for office is required to comply with; and(ii)subject to the same enforcement provisions, and civil and criminal penalties, that apply to a candidate for office in relation to the reporting requirements described in Subsection (11)(b)(i).(c)Upon timely receipt of the signatures described in Subsections (8) and (9)(b), or Subsections (8) and (10)(b), the election officer shall, no later than the day before the day on which the qualified political party holds the convention to select a nominee for the elective office to which the signature packets relate, notify the qualified political party and the lieutenant governor of the name of each member of the qualified political party who qualifies as a nominee of the qualified political party, under this section, for the elective office to which the convention relates.(d)Upon receipt of a notice of intent to gather signatures for candidacy described in this section, the lieutenant governor shall post the notice of intent to gather signatures for candidacy on the lieutenant governor's website in the same location that the lieutenant governor posts a declaration of candidacy.(12)The deadline before which a member of a qualified political party must collect and submit signatures to the election officer under this section is 5 p.m. on the last business day that is at least 14 calendar days before the day on which the qualified political party's convention for the office begins.(13)For the 2026 election year only, an individual who desires to gather signatures to seek the nomination of a qualified political party for the office of United States representative shall:(a)in accordance with Subsection (3)(a), file a notice of intent to gather signatures during the period beginning at 8 a.m. on the first business day of January and ending at 5 p.m. on March 13, 2026; and(b)during the period beginning on the day on which the individual files the notice of intent to gather signatures and ending at 5 p.m. on March 13, 2026at the applicable deadline described in Subsection (12), on a form approved by the lieutenant governor that complies with Subsection 20A-9-405(3), collect 7,000 signatures of registered voters who are residents of the state and are permitted by the qualified political party to vote for the qualified political party's candidates in a primary election.