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7 LONG TITLE
8 General Description:
9 This bill amends provisions of the Election Code relating to voting and counting votes.
10 Highlighted Provisions:
11 This bill:
12 ▸ requires a county clerk and a county jail to coordinate to provide the opportunity for
13 eligible inmates of the jail to register to vote and vote by mail;
14 ▸ establishes notice requirements relating to the opportunity for an inmate to register
15 to vote and vote; and
16 ▸ provides for an option, in the discretion of the county clerk and county jail, for
17 in-person voting by jail inmates.
18 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
19 None
20 Other Special Clauses:
21 None
22 Utah Code Sections Affected:
23 ENACTS:
24 20A-3a-210, Utah Code Annotated 1953
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26 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
27 Section 1. Section 20A-3a-210 is enacted to read:
28 20A-3a-210. Voting from jail.
29 (1) As used in this section, "election" means:
30 (a) a regular primary election;
31 (b) a regular general election;
32 (c) a municipal primary election;
33 (d) a municipal general election;
34 (e) a presidential primary election;
35 (f) a special congressional primary election; or
36 (g) a special congressional general election.
37 (2) No sooner than 50 days before, but no later than 40 days before, the day of an
38 election, a county jail shall, in coordination with the county clerk:
39 (a) post, in one or more locations likely to be seen by the inmates of the county jail, a
40 notice that includes:
41 (i) the type of election;
42 (ii) the date of the election;
43 (iii) information on how an inmate may register to vote in the election, including
44 applicable deadlines;
45 (iv) information on how an inmate may receive and mail or otherwise send a mail-in
46 ballot, including applicable deadlines;
47 (v) a description of the residency requirements relating to the election, including a
48 statement that incarceration at the jail does not establish residency status at the location of the
49 jail; and
50 (vi) information regarding convictions and incarcerations that may prohibit an inmate
51 from voting;
52 (b) provide assistance to an inmate to register to vote, to obtain a ballot, and to mail or
53 otherwise send the ballot to the correct election office; and
54 (c) ensure that an inmate's right to a secret ballot is preserved.
55 (3) A county jail shall provide a separate written notice, described in Subsection (2)(a),
56 to each inmate at the jail who, due to a disability, a circumstance of incarceration, a medical
57 issue, or another reason, is unlikely to see the notice posted under Subsection (2)(a).
58 (4) A county clerk and a county jail may, if both parties agree, provide in-person voting
59 at the jail for an election.
60 (5) The lieutenant governor may alter requirements relating to a polling place and the
61 security of ballots to the extent necessary to provide in-person voting under Subsection (4), if
62 the security of the ballots, and the right to a secret ballot, is preserved.
63 Section 2. Effective date.
64 This bill takes effect on May 1, 2024.