1     
ELECTION INTEGRITY AMENDMENTS

2     
2021 GENERAL SESSION

3     
STATE OF UTAH

4     
Chief Sponsor: Steve Eliason

5     
Senate Sponsor: ____________

6     

7     LONG TITLE
8     General Description:
9          This bill addresses the verification of a voter's signatures and the handling of a ballot
10     for which the voter's signatures do not correspond.
11     Highlighted Provisions:
12          This bill:
13          ▸     clarifies when a voter's signatures correspond;
14          ▸     adds requirements to an election officer's required notice to the individual for whom
15     poll workers reject a ballot because the voter's signatures do not correspond;
16          ▸     allows for the inclusion on an affidavit regarding a rejected ballot information
17     regarding a voter's disability that causes the voter's signatures not to correspond;
18          ▸     requires election officers to:
19               •     record certain information regarding rejected ballots; and
20               •     report certain information regarding rejected ballots to the Office of the
21     Lieutenant Governor;
22          ▸     requires the director of elections within the Office of the Lieutenant Governor to
23     make certain rules regarding verifying a voter's signatures;
24          ▸     includes an election officer as in individual subject to a criminal penalty for willful
25     neglect of duty or corrupt conduct; and
26          ▸     makes technical and conforming changes.
27     Money Appropriated in this Bill:
28          None
29     Other Special Clauses:
30          None
31     Utah Code Sections Affected:
32     AMENDS:
33          20A-3a-401, as renumbered and amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 31
34          20A-5-701, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 253
35     

36     Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
37          Section 1. Section 20A-3a-401 is amended to read:
38          20A-3a-401. Custody of voted ballots mailed or deposited in a ballot drop box --
39     Disposition -- Notice.
40          (1) This section governs ballots returned by mail or via a ballot drop box.
41          (2) (a) Poll workers shall open return envelopes containing manual ballots that are in
42     the custody of the poll workers in accordance with Subsection (2)(b).
43          (b) The poll workers shall, first, compare the signature of the voter on the affidavit of
44     the return envelope to the signature of the voter in the voter registration records.
45          (3) After complying with Subsection (2), the poll workers shall determine whether:
46          (a) the signatures correspond;
47          (b) the affidavit is sufficient;
48          (c) the voter is registered to vote in the correct precinct;
49          (d) the voter's right to vote the ballot has been challenged;
50          (e) the voter has already voted in the election;
51          (f) the voter is required to provide valid voter identification; and
52          (g) if the voter is required to provide valid voter identification, whether the voter has
53     provided valid voter identification.
54          (4) (a) The poll workers shall take the action described in Subsection (4)(b) if the poll
55     workers determine that:
56          (i) the signatures correspond;
57          (ii) the affidavit is sufficient;
58          (iii) the voter is registered to vote in the correct precinct;
59          (iv) the voter's right to vote the ballot has not been challenged;
60          (v) the voter has not already voted in the election; and
61          (vi) for a voter required to provide valid voter identification, that the voter has
62     provided valid voter identification.
63          (b) If the poll workers make all of the findings described in Subsection (4)(a), the poll
64     workers shall:
65          (i) remove the manual ballot from the return envelope in a manner that does not
66     destroy the affidavit on the return envelope;
67          (ii) ensure that the ballot does not unfold and is not otherwise examined in connection
68     with the return envelope; and
69          (iii) place the ballot with the other ballots to be counted.
70          (c) If the poll workers do not make all of the findings described in Subsection (4)(a),
71     the poll workers shall:
72          (i) disallow the vote;
73          (ii) without opening the return envelope, mark across the face of the return envelope:
74          (A) "Rejected as defective"; or
75          (B) "Rejected as not a registered voter"; and
76          (iii) place the return envelope, unopened, with the other rejected return envelopes.
77          (d) A signature corresponds as described in Subsection (4)(a)(i) if the poll worker, in
78     accordance with the criteria and processes that the Office of the Lieutenant Governor issues
79     under Subsection (12), determines that the signature on a ballot's affidavit return envelope is
80     reasonably consistent with the individual's signature in the voter registration records.
81          (5) (a) If the poll workers reject an individual's ballot because the poll workers
82     determine that [the signature on the return envelope does not match the individual's signature in
83     the voter registration records] signatures do not meet the conditions described in Subsection
84     (4)(d), the election officer shall:
85          (i) contact the individual in accordance with Subsection (7) and to the maximum
86     degree possible using the information on record for the voter, including any contact
87     information provided by the voter on the voter's mail-in ballot envelope, by mail, email, SMS
88     text message, or phone[, and];
89          (ii) attempt contact using each method of communication described in Subsection
90     (5)(a)(i) until the election official reaches the individual; and
91          (iii) inform the individual:
92          [(i)] (A) that the individual's signature is in question;
93          [(ii)] (B) how the individual may resolve the issue; and
94          [(iii)] (C) that, in order for the ballot to be counted, the individual is required to deliver
95     to the election officer a correctly completed affidavit, provided by the county clerk, that meets
96     the requirements described in Subsection (5)[(b)](c).
97          (b) The election officer shall ensure that the notice described in Subsection (5)(a)
98     includes:
99          (i) when communicating the notice by mail, a printed copy of the affidavit described in
100     Subsection (5)(c) and a return envelope with pre-paid postage;
101          (ii) when communicating the notice by email or text message, a link to a copy of the
102     affidavit described in Subsection (5)(c) that the county clerk's website hosts; or
103          (iii) when communicating the notice through phone, either during a direct conversation
104     with the voter or in a voicemail, arrangements for the voter to receive a copy of the affidavit
105     described in Subsection (5)(c), either from the clerk's office in person, by mail, or electronically
106     on the clerk's website.
107          [(b)] (c) An affidavit described in Subsection (5)(a)(iii) shall include:
108          (i) an attestation that the individual voted the ballot;
109          (ii) a space for the individual to enter the individual's name, date of birth, and driver
110     license number or the last four digits of the individual's social security number;
111          (iii) a space for the individual to sign the affidavit; and
112          (iv) a statement that, by signing the affidavit, the individual authorizes the lieutenant
113     governor's and county clerk's use of the individual's signature on the affidavit for voter
114     identification purposes.
115          [(c)] (d) In order for an individual described in Subsection (5)(a) to have the
116     individual's ballot counted, the individual shall deliver the affidavit described in Subsection
117     [(5)(b)] (5)(a)(iii) to the election officer.
118          (e) If the reason that a signature does not correspond under Subsection (5)(a) is due to
119     an individual's disability, the individual may include related information in the affidavit
120     described in Subsection (5)(a)(iii).
121          [(d)] (f) An election officer who receives a signed affidavit under Subsection [(5)(c)]
122     (5)(d) shall immediately:
123          (i) scan the signature on the affidavit electronically and keep the signature on file in the
124     statewide voter registration database developed under Section 20A-2-109; [and]
125          (ii) if the election officer receives the affidavit no later than 5 p.m. the day before the
126     canvass, count the individual's ballot[.]; and
127          (iii) if the affidavit discloses that the reason that the signature does not correspond is
128     due to an individual's disability as described in Subsection (5)(e), the election officer shall
129     modify policies as appropriate for the individual in accordance with Title II of the Americans
130     with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. 12131 - 12165.
131          (6) If the poll workers reject an individual's ballot for any reason, other than the reason
132     described in Subsection (5)(a), the election officer shall notify the individual of the rejection in
133     accordance with Subsection (7) by mail, email, SMS text message, or phone and specify the
134     reason for the rejection.
135          (7) An election officer who is required to give notice under Subsection (5) or (6) shall
136     give the notice no later than:
137          [(a) if the election officer rejects the ballot before election day:]
138          [(i)] (a) one business day after the day on which the election officer rejects the ballot, if
139     the election officer gives the notice by email or text message; or
140          [(ii)] (b) two business days after the day on which the election officer rejects the ballot,
141     if the election officer gives the notice by postal mail or phone[;].
142          [(b) seven days after election day if the election officer rejects the ballot on election
143     day; or]
144          [(c) seven days after the canvass if the election officer rejects the ballot after election
145     day and before the end of the canvass.]
146          (8) (a) An election officer may not count the ballot of an individual whom the election
147     officer contacts under Subsection (5) or (6) unless the election officer:
148          (i) receives a signed affidavit described in Subsection (5)(c) from the individual
149     [under] in accordance with Subsection [(5)(b)] (5)(c); or
150          (ii) is otherwise able to establish contact with the individual to confirm the individual's
151     identity.
152          (b) For purposes of this Subsection (8), an election officer establishes contact with the
153     individual and confirms the individual's identify if:
154          (i) the election officer or the election officer's employee communicates directly with
155     the voter;
156          (ii) the voter provides vital information to the officer or employee that the officer or
157     employee verifies using the voter's voter registration file; and
158          (iii) the election officer maintains written documentation of:
159          (A) the contact;
160          (B) the vital information that the voter provides; and
161          (C) the verification of the information using the voter file.
162          (9) The election officer shall retain and preserve the return envelopes in the manner
163     provided by law for the retention and preservation of ballots voted at that election.
164          (10) (a) (i) The election officer shall record the following in the statewide database of
165     registered voters:
166          (A) any initial rejection of a ballot under Subsection (4)(c) within one business day
167     after the day on which the election officer rejects the ballot; and
168          (B) any resolution of a rejection of a ballot under Subsection (8) within one business
169     day after the day on which the ballot rejection is resolved.
170          (ii) A record described in Subsection (10)(a)(i) constitutes a part of the voting history
171     record as that term is defined in Section 20A-5-410.
172          (b) No later than 14 business days after the canvass date for the election in question,
173     the election officer shall provide to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor a final report of the
174     disposition of all rejected and resolved ballots, including specific numbers of ballots rejected:
175          (i) because the voter did not sign the voter's ballot;
176          (ii) because the voter's signatures on the ballot and in records on file do not correspond;
177     and
178          (iii) for which the voter subsequently submitted an affidavit described in Subsection
179     (5)(e) stating that the reason for a voter's rejected signature was the voter's disability.
180          (11) Willful failure to comply with this section constitutes willful neglect of duty under
181     Section 20A-5-701.
182          (12) The director of elections within the Office of the Lieutenant Governor shall make
183     rules, in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, to:
184          (a) establish criteria and processes for use by poll workers in determining if a signature
185     corresponds with the signature on file for the voter in accordance with Subsection (4)(d); and
186          (b) provide training and certification to election officers and employees of election
187     officers regarding the criteria and processes described in Subsection (12)(a).
188          Section 2. Section 20A-5-701 is amended to read:
189          20A-5-701. Willful neglect of duty or corrupt conduct -- Penalty.
190          (1) It is unlawful for any poll worker or election officer to willfully neglect the poll
191     worker's or election officer's duty or to willfully act corruptly in discharging the poll worker's
192     or election officer's duty.
193          (2) Any poll worker or election officer who violates this section is guilty of a third
194     degree felony.