20A-1-501. Candidate vacancies — Procedure for filling.
(1)
As used in this section, “central committee” means:
Terms Used In Utah Code 20A-1-501
Ballot: means the storage medium, including a paper, mechanical, or electronic storage medium, that records an individual voter's vote. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
Election: means a regular general election, a municipal general election, a statewide special election, a local special election, a regular primary election, a municipal primary election, and a special district election. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
Election officer: means :
(a)
the lieutenant governor, for all statewide ballots and elections;
Position: means a square, circle, rectangle, or other geometric shape on a ballot in which the voter marks the voter's choice. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
Regular general election: means the election held throughout the state on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each even-numbered year for the purposes established in Section 20A-1-201. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes a state, district, or territory of the United States. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
United States: includes each state, district, and territory of the United States of America. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
Vacancy: means :
(a)
except as provided in Subsection (75)(b), the absence of an individual to serve in a position created by state constitution or state statute, whether that absence occurs because of death, disability, disqualification, resignation, or other cause ; or
(b)
in relation to a candidate for a position created by state constitution or state statute, the removal of a candidate due to the candidate's death, resignation, or disqualification. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
(a)
the state central committee of a political party, for a candidate for:
(i)
United States senator, United States representative, governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, state treasurer, or state auditor; or
(ii)
state legislator if the legislative district encompasses all or a portion of more than one county; or
(b)
the county central committee of a political party, for a party candidate seeking an office, other than an office described in Subsection (1)(a), elected at an election held in an even-numbered year.
(2)
Except as provided in Subsection (6), the central committee may certify the name of another candidate to the appropriate election officer if:
(a)
for a registered political party that will have a candidate on a ballot in a primary election:
(i)
after the close of the period for filing a declaration of candidacy and continuing through the day before the day on which the lieutenant governor provides the list described in Subsection 20A-9-403(4)(a) , only one or two candidates from that party have filed a declaration of candidacy for that office and one or both dies, resigns as a candidate, or is disqualified as a candidate; and
(ii)
the central committee provides written certification of the replacement candidate to the appropriate election officer before the day on which the lieutenant governor provides the list described in Subsection 20A-9-403(4)(a); and
(b)
for a registered political party that does not have a candidate on the ballot in a primary, but will have a candidate on the ballot for a regular general election:
(i)
after the close of the period for filing a declaration of candidacy and continuing through the day before the day on which the lieutenant governor makes the certification described in Section 20A-5-409, the party’s candidate dies, resigns as a candidate, or is disqualified as a candidate; and
(ii)
the central committee provides written certification of the replacement candidate to the appropriate election officer before the day on which the lieutenant governor makes the certification described in Section 20A-5-409; or
(c)
for a registered political party with a candidate certified as winning a primary election:
(i)
after the close of the period for filing a declaration of candidacy and continuing through the day before the day on which the lieutenant governor makes the certification described in Section 20A-5-409, the party’s candidate dies, resigns as a candidate, or is disqualified as a candidate; and
(ii)
the central committee provides written certification of the replacement candidate to the appropriate election officer before the day on which the lieutenant governor makes the certification described in Section 20A-5-409.
(3)
If no more than two candidates from a political party have filed a declaration of candidacy for an office elected at a regular general election and one resigns to become the party candidate for another position, the central committee of that political party may certify the name of another candidate to the appropriate election officer.
(4)
Each replacement candidate shall file a declaration of candidacy as required by 2.
(5)
(a)
The name of a candidate who is certified under Subsection (2)(a) after the deadline described in Subsection (2)(a)(ii) may not appear on the primary election ballot.
(b)
The name of a candidate who is certified under Subsection (2)(b) after the deadline described in Subsection (2)(b)(ii) may not appear on the general election ballot.
(c)
The name of a candidate who is certified under Subsection (2)(c) after the deadline described in Subsection (2)(c)(ii) may not appear on the general election ballot.
