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H.B. 172

             1     

VOTE BY MAIL AMENDMENTS

             2     
2012 GENERAL SESSION

             3     
STATE OF UTAH

             4     
Chief Sponsor: Steve Eliason

             5     
Senate Sponsor: Curtis S. Bramble

             6     
             7      LONG TITLE
             8      General Description:
             9          This bill amends and enacts provisions relating to voting by mail.
             10      Highlighted Provisions:
             11          This bill:
             12          .    requires the lieutenant governor, with the participation of county clerks and other
             13      election officers, to study how to administer an election by mail with the option of
             14      voting in person at early voting or an election day voting center;
             15          .    repeals a section specific to voting by mail in certain districts;
             16          .    authorizes an election officer to administer an election entirely by mail; and
             17          .    makes technical changes.
             18      Money Appropriated in this Bill:
             19          None
             20      Other Special Clauses:
             21          This bill provides an immediate effective date.
             22      Utah Code Sections Affected:
             23      AMENDS:
             24          20A-3-302, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2005, Chapter 71
             25          63I-2-220, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2011, Chapter 291
             26      ENACTS:
             27          20A-5-410, Utah Code Annotated 1953


             28      REPEALS:
             29          20A-3-302.5, as enacted by Laws of Utah 2009, Chapter 24
             30     
             31      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             32          Section 1. Section 20A-3-302 is amended to read:
             33           20A-3-302. Conducting entire election by absentee ballot.
             34          (1) [Whenever, on the 60th day before an election, there are 500 or fewer persons
             35      registered to vote in a voting precinct, the county legislative body of the county in which the
             36      voting precinct is located] Notwithstanding Section 17B-1-306 , an election officer may [elect
             37      to] administer an election entirely by absentee ballot.
             38          (2) If the [county legislative body of the county in which the voting precinct is located]
             39      election officer decides to administer an election entirely by absentee ballot, the [county clerk]
             40      election officer shall mail to each registered voter within that voting precinct:
             41          (a) an absentee ballot;
             42          (b) a statement that there will be no polling place in the voting precinct for the election;
             43          (c) instructions for returning the ballot that include an express notice about any
             44      relevant deadlines that the voter must meet in order for [his] the voter's vote to be counted; and
             45          (d) if the election officer does not operate an election day voting center, a warning, on a
             46      separate page of colored paper in bold face print, indicating that if the voter fails to follow the
             47      instructions included with the absentee ballot, [he] the voter will be unable to vote in that
             48      election because there will be no polling place in the voting precinct on the day of the election.
             49          (3) Any voter who votes by absentee ballot under this subsection is not required to
             50      apply for an absentee ballot as required by this part.
             51          (4) [(a) The county clerk of a county that] An election officer who administers an
             52      election entirely by absentee ballot shall:
             53          (a) (i) obtain, in person, the signatures of each voter within that voting precinct before
             54      the election; [and] or
             55          (ii) obtain the signature of each voter within the voting precinct from the county clerk;
             56      and
             57          [(ii)] (b) maintain the signatures on file in the [county clerk's] election officer's office.
             58          [(b) (i)] (5) (a) Upon receiving the returned absentee ballots, the [county clerk] election


             59      officer shall compare the signature on each absentee ballot with the voter's signature that is
             60      maintained on file and verify that the signatures are the same.
             61          [(ii)] (b) If the [county clerk] election officer questions the authenticity of the signature
             62      on the absentee ballot, the [clerk] election officer shall immediately contact the voter to verify
             63      the signature.
             64          [(iii)] (c) If the voter does not confirm [his] the voter's signature on the absentee ballot,
             65      the [county clerk] election officer shall:
             66          [(A)] (i) immediately send another absentee ballot and other voting materials as
             67      required by this subsection to the voter; and
             68          [(B)] (ii) disqualify the initial absentee ballot.
             69          Section 2. Section 20A-5-410 is enacted to read:
             70          20A-5-410. Study voting by mail.
             71          (1) The lieutenant governor, in consultation with other election officers, shall study
             72      how to administer an election that takes place no later than 2015 in which all registered voters
             73      receive a ballot in the mail and a person may vote by:
             74          (a) returning a marked ballot to the election officer in the mail; or
             75          (b) marking a ballot in person at an early voting polling place or an election day voting
             76      center.
             77          (2) (a) An election officer shall participate in the study at the request of the lieutenant
             78      governor.
             79          (b) The study shall include recommended statutory changes.
             80          (3) The lieutenant governor shall report on the progress of the study to the Government
             81      Operations Interim Committee before September 30, 2012, September 30, 2013, and
             82      September 30, 2014.
             83          Section 3. Section 63I-2-220 is amended to read:
             84           63I-2-220. Repeal dates, Title 20A.
             85          (1) Section 20A-2-107.5 is repealed July 1, 2013.
             86          (2) Section 20A-3-704 is repealed January 1, 2016.
             87          (3) Section 20A-5-410 is repealed January 1, 2016.
             88          Section 4. Repealer.
             89          This bill repeals:


             90          Section 20A-3-302.5, Absentee voting -- No polling place in elections for certain
             91      districts.
             92          Section 5. Effective date.
             93          If approved by two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, this bill takes effect
             94      upon approval by the governor, or the day following the constitutional time limit of Utah
             95      Constitution Article VII, Section 8, without the governor's signature, or in the case of a veto,
             96      the date of veto override.




Legislative Review Note
    as of 2-23-12 6:13 AM


Office of Legislative Research and General Counsel


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