We’re not even halfway through the legislative session, and elected officials across Utah are already attempting to upend the way we vote in Utah. Whether it’s tampering with mail-in balloting, changing the amount of time we are allowed to vote, or making it harder for We The People to legislate through ballot initiatives, this is not what Utahns want. To fight back, the Let Utah Vote coalition relaunched our Save Vote by Mail petition for Utahns!
The ACLU of Utah is opposing these anti-voting and participatory democracy bills:
- HB 92 (Voting Amendments) is one of several anti-democracy bills looking to make voting by mail significantly harder. This bill would eliminate our current vote-by-mail system, forcing voters to request mail-in ballots instead of automatically receiving them from the county clerks.
- HB 214 (Election Modifications) seeks to change the deadline for counting vote-by-mail ballots. It requires that an election officer receive the ballot before the polls close on Election Day, rather than being postmarked by Election Day, to be valid.
- HJR 14 (Proposal to Amend Utah Constitution - Statewide Initiatives) & HB 284 (Initiative Amendments) are two bills that would create extreme barriers to the ballot initiative process. The proposed bills would require a 60% supermajority of Utah voters to approve ballot initiatives that impose a new or increased tax, going well beyond the current threshold of a majority vote and beyond the 50% majority needed by the State Legislature to approve similar measures.
Utah historically has provided an easy, secure, and inexpensive voting system. that increases voter turnout through the convenience and flexibility of voting by mail and same-day registration. This recent onslaught of proposed legislation trying to change our system is a slap in the face to our proven free and fair elections. Join us in standing up for democracy.
