1st Sub. H.B. 214 LEGISLATIVE GENERAL COUNSEL 6 Approved for Filing: T.R. Vaughn 6 6 02-21-23 9:52 AM 6 H.B. 214 1st Sub. (Buff) Representative Jason B. Kyle proposes the following substitute bill: 1 PRIMARY ELECTION REVISIONS 2 2023 GENERAL SESSION 3 STATE OF UTAH 4 Chief Sponsor: Jason B. Kyle 5 Senate Sponsor: ____________ 6 7LONG TITLE 8General Description: 9 This bill addresses primary elections. 10Highlighted Provisions: 11 This bill: 12 <provides that, for certain primary election races, if no candidate receives more than 1350% of the votes in the race, the person who wins the nomination will be 14determined by conducting a runoff election between the two candidates who 15received the most votes in the initial primary election; 16 <describes deadlines, notice requirements, and procedures relating to a runoff 17election; and 18 <makes technical and conforming changes. 19Money Appropriated in this Bill: 20 None 21Other Special Clauses: 22 None 23Utah Code Sections Affected: 24AMENDS: 25 20A-3a-601, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 95 and renumbered and *HB0214S01* 1st Sub. (Buff) H.B. 214 02-21-23 9:52 AM - 2 - 26amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 31 27 20A-6-203, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2020, Chapter 31 28 20A-9-403, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 325 29ENACTS: 30 20A-9-409.1, Utah Code Annotated 1953 31 32Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah: 33 Section 1. Section 20A-3a-601 is amended to read: 34 20A-3a-601. Early voting. 35 (1) Except as provided in Subsection 20A-9-409.1(4)(b) or Section 20A-7-609.5: 36 (a) an individual who is registered to vote may vote at a polling place before the 37election date in accordance with this section; and 38 (b) except as provided in Subsection 20A-2-207(6), an individual who is not registered 39to vote may register to vote and vote at a polling place before the election date in accordance 40with this section if the individual: 41 (i) is otherwise legally entitled to vote the ballot; and 42 (ii) casts a provisional ballot in accordance with Section 20A-2-207. 43 (2) Except as provided in Section 20A-1-308 or Subsection (3), the early voting period: 44 (a) begins on the date that is 14 days before the date of the election; and 45 (b) continues through the Friday before the election if the election date is a Tuesday. 46 (3) (a) An election officer may extend the end of the early voting period to the day 47before the election date if the election officer provides notice of the extension in accordance 48with Section 20A-3a-604. 49 (b) For a municipal election, the municipal clerk may reduce the early voting period 50described in this section if: 51 (i) the municipal clerk conducts early voting on at least four days; 52 (ii) the early voting days are within the period beginning on the date that is 14 days 53before the date of the election and ending on the day before the election; and 54 (iii) the municipal clerk provides notice of the reduced early voting period in 55accordance with Section 20A-3a-604. 56 (c) For a county election, the county clerk may reduce the early voting period described 02-21-23 9:52 AM 1st Sub. (Buff) H.B. 214 - 3 - 57in this section if: 58 (i) the county clerk conducts early voting on at least four days; 59 (ii) the early voting days are within the period beginning on the date that is 14 days 60before the date of the election and ending on the day before the election; and 61 (iii) the county clerk provides notice of the reduced early voting period in accordance 62with Section 20A-3a-604. 63 (4) Except as provided in Section 20A-1-308, during the early voting period, the 64election officer: 65 (a) for a local special election, a municipal primary election, and a municipal general 66election: 67 (i) shall conduct early voting on a minimum of four days during each week of the early 68voting period; and 69 (ii) shall conduct early voting on the last day of the early voting period; and 70 (b) for all other elections: 71 (i) shall conduct early voting on each weekday; and 72 (ii) may elect to conduct early voting on a Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. 73 (5) Except as specifically provided in this Part 6, Early Voting, or Section 20A-1-308, 74early voting shall be administered in accordance with the requirements of this title. 75 Section 2. Section 20A-6-203 is amended to read: 76 20A-6-203. Ballots for regular primary elections. 77 (1) The lieutenant governor, together with county clerks, suppliers of election 78materials, and representatives of registered political parties, shall: 79 (a) develop ballots to be used in Utah's regular primary election; 80 (b) except to the extent otherwise provided in Subsection 20A-9-409.1(6), ensure that 81the ballots comply generally, where applicable, with the requirements of [Title 20A, Chapter 6, 82Part 1, General Requirements for All Ballots] Part 1, General Requirements for All Ballots, and 83this section; and 84 (c) provide voting booths, election records and supplies, ballot boxes, and as 85applicable, voting devices, for each voting precinct as required by Section 20A-5-403. 86 (2) (a) Notwithstanding the requirements of Subsections (1)(b) and (c), [Title 20A, 87Chapter 6, Part 1, General Requirements for All Ballots] Part 1, General Requirements for All 1st Sub. (Buff) H.B. 214 02-21-23 9:52 AM - 4 - 88Ballots, and Sections 20A-5-403, 20A-6-401, and 20A-6-401.1, the lieutenant governor, 89together with county clerks, suppliers of election materials, and representatives of registered 90political parties shall ensure that the ballots, voting booths, election records and supplies, and 91ballot boxes: 92 (i) facilitate the distribution, voting, and tallying of ballots in a primary where not all 93voters are authorized to vote for a party's candidate; 94 (ii) simplify the task of poll workers, particularly in determining a voter's party 95affiliation; 96 (iii) minimize the possibility of spoiled ballots due to voter confusion; and 97 (iv) protect against fraud. 98 (b) To accomplish the requirements of this Subsection (2), the lieutenant governor, 99county clerks, suppliers of election materials, and representatives of registered political parties 100shall: 101 (i) mark ballots as being for a particular registered political party; and 102 (ii) instruct individuals counting the ballots to count only those votes for candidates 103from the registered political party whose ballot the voter received. 104 Section 3. Section 20A-9-403 is amended to read: 105 20A-9-403. Regular primary elections -- Candidate nomination process for a 106registered political party that is not a qualified political party -- Determining winning 107nominee for any registered political party, including a qualified political party -- Election 108expenses. 109 (1) (a) The candidate nomination process described in this Subsection (1) through 110Subsection (4) applies to a registered political party that is not a qualified political party. 111 [(a)] (b) Candidates for elective office that are to be filled at the next regular general 112election shall be nominated in a regular primary election by direct vote of the people in the 113manner [prescribed] described in this section and, as applicable, Section 20A-9-409.1. The 114regular primary election is held on the date specified in Section 20A-1-201.5. Nothing in this 115section shall affect a candidate's ability to qualify for a regular general election's ballot as an 116unaffiliated candidate under Section 20A-9-501 or to participate in a regular general election as 117a write-in candidate under Section 20A-9-601. 118 [(b)] (c) Each registered political party that chooses to have the names of the registered 02-21-23 9:52 AM 1st Sub. (Buff) H.B. 214 - 5 - 119political party's candidates for elective office featured with party affiliation on the ballot at a 120regular general election shall comply with the requirements of this section and shall nominate 121the registered political party's candidates for elective office in the manner described in this 122section. 123 [(c)] (d) A filing officer may not permit an official ballot at a regular general election 124to be produced or used if the ballot denotes affiliation between a registered political party or 125any other political group and a candidate for elective office who is not nominated in the manner 126prescribed in this section or in Subsection 20A-9-202(4). 127 [(d)] (e) Unless noted otherwise, the dates in this section refer to those that occur in 128each even-numbered year in which a regular general election will be held. 129 (2) (a) Each registered political party, in a statement filed with the lieutenant governor, 130shall: 131 (i) either declare the registered political party's intent to participate in the next regular 132primary election or declare that the registered political party chooses not to have the names of 133the registered political party's candidates for elective office featured on the ballot at the next 134regular general election; and 135 (ii) if the registered political party participates in the upcoming regular primary 136election, identify one or more registered political parties whose members may vote for the 137registered political party's candidates and whether individuals identified as unaffiliated with a 138political party may vote for the registered political party's candidates. 139 (b) (i) A registered political party that is a continuing political party shall file the 140statement described in Subsection (2)(a) with the lieutenant governor no later than 5 p.m. on 141November 30 of each odd-numbered year. 142 (ii) An organization that is seeking to become a registered political party under Section 14320A-8-103 shall file the statement described in Subsection (2)(a) at the time that the registered 144political party files the petition described in Section 20A-8-103. 145 (3) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (3)(e), an individual who submits a 146declaration of candidacy under Section 20A-9-202 shall appear as a candidate for elective 147office on the regular primary ballot of the registered political party listed on the declaration of 148candidacy only if the individual is certified by the appropriate filing officer as having submitted 149a nomination petition that was: 1st Sub. (Buff) H.B. 214 02-21-23 9:52 AM - 6 - 150 (i) circulated and completed in accordance with Section 20A-9-405; and 151 (ii) signed by at least 2% of the registered political party's members who reside in the 152political division of the office that the individual seeks. 153 (b) (i) A candidate for elective office shall submit signatures for a nomination petition 154to the appropriate filing officer for verification and certification no later than 5 p.m. on the final 155day in March. 156 (ii) A candidate may supplement the candidate's submissions at any time on or before 157the filing deadline. 158 (c) (i) The lieutenant governor shall determine for each elective office the total number 159of signatures that must be submitted under Subsection (3)(a)(ii) or 20A-9-408(8) by counting 160the aggregate number of individuals residing in each elective office's political division who 161have designated a particular registered political party on the individuals' voter registration 162forms on or before November 15 of each odd-numbered year. 163 (ii) The lieutenant governor shall publish the determination for each elective office no 164later than November 30 of each odd-numbered year. 165 (d) The filing officer shall: 166 (i) except as otherwise provided in Section 20A-21-201, verify signatures on 167nomination petitions in a transparent and orderly manner, no later than 14 days after the day on 168which a candidate submits the signatures to the filing officer; 169 (ii) for all qualifying candidates for elective office who submit nomination petitions to 170the filing officer, issue certifications referenced in Subsection (3)(a) no later than the deadline 171described in Subsection 20A-9-202(1)(b); 172 (iii) consider active and inactive voters eligible to sign nomination petitions; 173 (iv) consider an individual who signs a nomination petition a member of a registered 174political party for purposes of Subsection (3)(a)(ii) if the individual has designated that 175registered political party as the individual's party membership on the individual's voter 176registration form; and 177 (v) except as otherwise provided in Section 20A-21-201, utilize procedures described 178in Section 20A-7-206.3 to verify submitted nomination petition signatures, or use statistical 179sampling procedures to verify submitted nomination petition signatures in accordance with 180rules made under Subsection (3)(f). 02-21-23 9:52 AM 1st Sub. (Buff) H.B. 214 - 7 - 181 (e) Notwithstanding any other provision in this Subsection (3), a candidate for 182lieutenant governor may appear on the regular primary ballot of a registered political party 183without submitting nomination petitions if the candidate files a declaration of candidacy and 184complies with Subsection 20A-9-202(3). 185 (f) In accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 3, Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act, the 186director of elections, within the Office of the Lieutenant Governor, may make rules that: 187 (i) provide for the use of statistical sampling procedures that: 188 (A) filing officers are required to use to verify signatures under Subsection (3)(d); and 189 (B) reflect a bona fide effort to determine the validity of a candidate's entire 190submission, using widely recognized statistical sampling techniques; and 191 (ii) provide for the transparent, orderly, and timely submission, verification, and 192certification of nomination petition signatures. 193 (g) The county clerk shall: 194 (i) review the declarations of candidacy filed by candidates for local boards of 195education to determine if more than two candidates have filed for the same seat; 196 (ii) place the names of all candidates who have filed a declaration of candidacy for a 197local board of education seat on the nonpartisan section of the ballot if more than two 198candidates have filed for the same seat; and 199 (iii) determine the order of the local board of education candidates' names on the ballot 200in accordance with Section 20A-6-305. 201 (4) (a) Before the deadline described in Subsection 20A-9-409(4)(c), the lieutenant 202governor shall provide to the county clerks: 203 (i) a list of the names of all candidates for federal, constitutional, multi-county, single 204county, and county offices who have received certifications under Subsection (3), along with 205instructions on how those names shall appear on the primary election ballot in accordance with 206Section 20A-6-305; and 207 (ii) a list of unopposed candidates for elective office who have been nominated by a 208registered political party under Subsection (5)(c) and instruct the county clerks to exclude the 209unopposed candidates from the primary election ballot. 210 (b) A candidate for lieutenant governor and a candidate for governor campaigning as 211joint-ticket running mates shall appear jointly on the primary election ballot. 1st Sub. (Buff) H.B. 214 02-21-23 9:52 AM - 8 - 212 (c) After the county clerk receives the certified list from the lieutenant governor under 213Subsection (4)(a), the county clerk shall post or publish a primary election notice in 214substantially the following form: 215 "Notice is given that a primary election will be held Tuesday, June ____, 216________(year), to nominate party candidates for the parties and candidates for nonpartisan 217local school board positions listed on the primary ballot. The polling place for voting precinct 218____ is ____. The polls will open at 7 a.m. and continue open until 8 p.m. of the same day. 219Attest: county clerk." 220 (5) (a) A candidate who, at the regular primary election, receives the highest number of 221votes cast for the office sought by the candidate is: 222 (i) except as otherwise provided in Section 20A-9-409.1, nominated for that office by 223the candidate's registered political party; or 224 (ii) for a nonpartisan local school board position, nominated for that office. 225 (b) If two or more candidates are to be elected to the office at the regular general 226election, those party candidates equal in number to positions to be filled who receive the 227highest number of votes at the regular primary election are the nominees of the candidates' 228party for those positions. 229 (c) (i) As used in this Subsection (5)(c), a candidate is "unopposed" if: 230 (A) no individual other than the candidate receives a certification under Subsection (3) 231for the regular primary election ballot of the candidate's registered political party for a 232particular elective office; or 233 (B) for an office where more than one individual is to be elected or nominated, the 234number of candidates who receive certification under Subsection (3) for the regular primary 235election of the candidate's registered political party does not exceed the total number of 236candidates to be elected or nominated for that office. 237 (ii) A candidate who is unopposed for an elective office in the regular primary election 238of a registered political party is nominated by the party for that office without appearing on the 239primary election ballot. 240 (6) Except as otherwise provided in Section 20A-9-409.1: 241 (a) [When] when a tie vote occurs in any primary election for any national, state, or 242other office that represents more than one county, the governor, lieutenant governor, and 02-21-23 9:52 AM 1st Sub. (Buff) H.B. 214 - 9 - 243attorney general shall, at a public meeting called by the governor and in the presence of the 244candidates involved, select the nominee by lot cast in whatever manner the governor 245determines[.]; and 246 (b) [When] when a tie vote occurs in any primary election for any county office, the 247district court judges of the district in which the county is located shall, at a public meeting 248called by the judges and in the presence of the candidates involved, select the nominee by lot 249cast in whatever manner the judges determine. 250 (7) The expense of providing all ballots, blanks, or other supplies to be used at any 251primary election provided for by this section, and all expenses necessarily incurred in the 252preparation for or the conduct of that primary election shall be paid out of the treasury of the 253county or state, in the same manner as for the regular general elections. 254 (8) An individual may not file a declaration of candidacy for a registered political party 255of which the individual is not a member, except to the extent that the registered political party 256permits otherwise under the registered political party's bylaws. 257 Section 4. Section 20A-9-409.1 is enacted to read: 258 20A-9-409.1. Determining winner of certain primary election races where a 259candidate does not receive a majority of the votes cast -- Runoff primary election for 260certain races -- Election requirements and notice. 261 (1) In a regular primary election race for a qualified political party, the election officer 262shall determine the winning nominee in accordance with Subsection (2) if: 263 (a) the race is to nominate a qualified political party candidate for United States 264senator, United States representative, governor, attorney general, state treasurer, state auditor, 265state senator, or state representative; and 266 (b) the candidate who receives the most votes in the initial primary election race does 267not receive more than 50% of the votes in the race. 268 (2) To determine the winning nominee for a race described in Subsection (1), the 269election officer shall declare as the nominee for that race the candidate who wins the runoff 270election, described in Subsection (4), between the two candidates who received the highest 271number of votes in the initial primary race. 272 (3) If a tie in the number of votes received in the initial primary election race makes it 273impossible to determine, under Subsection (2), the two candidates who received the highest 1st Sub. (Buff) H.B. 214 02-21-23 9:52 AM - 10 - 274number of votes in the initial primary race, the tie shall be broken, by lot, in the presence of the 275tied candidates or representatives of the tied candidates, by: 276 (a) the election officer; or 277 (b) if the election officer is the lieutenant governor and the race is for governor, one of 278the following, as designated by the lieutenant governor: 279 (i) the attorney general; 280 (ii) the state treasurer; or 281 (iii) the state auditor. 282 (4) To conduct a runoff election described in Subsection (2), the election officer shall: 283 (a) 35 days after the day of the regular primary election, hold a runoff election between 284the two candidates identified under Subsection (2); 285 (b) conduct the election in accordance with Section 20A-3a-202, except that the 286election officer may not provide early voting for the runoff election; 287 (c) provide notice of the runoff election by: 288 (i) (A) at least two days before the day of the election, publishing the notice in a 289newspaper of general circulation in the jurisdiction to which the election pertains; 290 (B) at least two days before the day of the election, posting one copy of the notice, and 291at least one additional copy per 2,000 population of the jurisdiction, in places within the 292jurisdiction that are most likely to give notice of the election to the voters in the jurisdiction, 293subject to a maximum of 10 notices; or 294 (C) at least five days before the day of the election, mailing the notice to each 295registered voter who resides in the jurisdiction to which the election pertains; 296 (ii) for 14 days before the day of the election, posting the notice on the Utah Public 297Notice Website, created in Section 63A-16-601; and 298 (iii) for 14 days before the day of the election, posting notice on the jurisdiction's 299website; 300 (d) except as provided in Subsection (5), include in the notice described in Subsection 301(4)(c): 302 (i) at the top of the notice, the following statement: 303 "NOTICE OF RUNOFF ELECTION 304 Notice is given that a runoff election will be held at the date and times indicated below 02-21-23 9:52 AM 1st Sub. (Buff) H.B. 214 - 11 - 305to nominate the candidate for the [name of registered political party] to run for [name of office] 306in the upcoming regular general election. The candidates in the runoff election are: 307 [list the names of the two candidates participating in the runoff election, in the same 308order as the candidates will appear on the ballot] 309 A voter who is eligible to vote in the primary election for the [insert the name of the 310applicable political party] may cast a vote in the runoff election"; 311 (ii) the hours during which the polls will be open; 312 (iii) the polling places for each voting precinct and election day voting center; 313 (iv) the address of the Statewide Electronic Voter Information Website and the election 314officer's website, with a statement indicating that the election officer will post on the websites 315any changes to the location of a polling place and the location of any additional polling place; 316 (v) a phone number that a voter may call to obtain information regarding the location 317of a polling place; and 318 (vi) the qualifications for an individual to vote in the election; and 319 (e) no later than 14 days after the day of the election, declaring nominated by the 320applicable party: 321 (i) the candidate who receives the highest number of votes in the runoff election; or 322 (ii) in the case of a tie, the candidate selected by lot, in the presence of the tied 323candidates or representatives of the tied candidates, by the individual described in Subsection 324(3). 325 (5) Instead of including the information described in Subsection (4)(d) in the notice 326described in Subsection (4)(c), the election officer may include the following in the notice: 327 (a) the statement described in Subsection (4)(d)(i); 328 (b) the following statement: "The election will be held in [indicate the jurisdiction] on 329[indicate date of election]. Information relating to the election, including polling places, polling 330place hours, and qualifications of voters may be obtained from the following sources:"; and 331 (c) a list of the following sources where an individual may view or obtain the 332information described in Subsections (4)(d)(ii) through (vi): 333 (i) the jurisdiction's website; 334 (ii) the physical address of the jurisdiction offices; and 335 (iii) a mailing address and telephone number. 1st Sub. (Buff) H.B. 214 02-21-23 9:52 AM - 12 - 336 (6) (a) In order to comply with Chapter 16, Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act, 337the election officer shall, when sending or providing a ballot under that chapter, provide the 338ability to rank the candidates in a regular primary election race, in the order the voter prefers 339the candidates, if the race may result in a runoff election under this section. 340 (b) To count a vote cast in a race described in Subsection (6)(a), where the voter 341ranked at least two of the candidates, the election officer shall: 342 (i) initially, only count a vote for the candidate the voter ranked highest; and 343 (ii) if the race results in a runoff election under this section, count a vote in the runoff 344election for the remaining candidate ranked highest by the voter.