20A-5-405. Election officer to provide ballots — Notice of sample ballot.
(1)
An election officer shall:
Terms Used In Utah Code 20A-5-405
Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
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
Ballot proposition: means a question, issue, or proposal that is submitted to voters on the ballot for their approval or rejection including:
(a)
an opinion question specifically authorized by the Legislature;
(b)
a constitutional amendment;
(c)
an initiative;
(d)
a referendum;
(e)
a bond proposition;
(f)
a judicial retention question;
(g)
an incorporation of a city or town; or
(h)
any other ballot question specifically authorized by the Legislature. 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;
Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
Manual ballot: means a paper document produced by an election officer on which an individual records an individual's vote by directly placing a mark on the paper document using a pen or other marking instrument. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
Official ballot: means the ballots distributed by the election officer for voters to record their votes. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
Polling place: means a building where voting is conducted. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
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
qualified: means to take the oath of office and begin performing the duties of the position for which the individual was elected. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
Sample ballot: means a mock ballot similar in form to the official ballot, published as provided in Section 20A-5-405. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
Voting precinct: means the smallest geographical voting unit, established under 3. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
(a)
provide ballots for every election of public officers in which the voters, or any of the voters, within the election officer‘s jurisdiction participate;
(b)
cause the name of every candidate whose nomination has been certified to or filed with the election officer in the manner provided by law to be included on each ballot;
(c)
cause any ballot proposition that has qualified for the ballot as provided by law to be included on each ballot;
(d)
ensure that the ballots are prepared and in the possession of the election officer at least seven days before the commencement of early voting as described in Section 20A-3a-601;
(e)
allow candidates and their agents and the sponsors of ballot propositions that have qualified for the official ballot to inspect the ballots;
(f)
no later than 45 days before the day of the election, make sample ballots available for inspection, in the same form as official ballots and that contain the same information as official ballots, by:
(i)
posting a copy of the sample ballot in the election officer’s office;
(ii)
sending a copy of the sample ballot to:
(A)
each candidate listed on the ballot; and
(B)
the lieutenant governor; and
(iii)
providing a copy of the sample ballot for the jurisdiction holding the election, as a class A notice under Section 63G-30-102, for at least seven days;
(g)
deliver a copy of the sample ballot to poll workers for each polling place and direct the poll workers to post the sample ballot as required by Section 20A-5-102; and
(h)
print and deliver, at the expense of the jurisdiction conducting the election, enough ballots, sample ballots, and instructions to meet the voting demands of the qualified voters in each voting precinct.
(2)
Instead of posting the entire sample ballot under Subsection (1)(f)(iii), the election officer may post a statement that:
(a)
is entitled, “sample ballot”;
(b)
includes the following: “A sample ballot for [indicate name of jurisdiction] for the upcoming [indicate type and date of election] may be obtained from the following sources:”; and
(c)
specifies the following sources where an individual may view or obtain a copy of the sample ballot:
(i)
if the jurisdiction has a website, the jurisdiction’s website;
(ii)
the physical address of the jurisdiction’s offices; and
(iii)
a mailing address and telephone number.
(3)
(a)
Each election officer shall, without delay, correct any error discovered in any ballot, if the correction can be made without interfering with the timely distribution of the ballots.
(b)
(i)
If the election officer discovers an error or omission in a manual ballot, and it is not possible to correct the error or omission, the election officer shall direct the poll workers to make the necessary corrections on the manual ballots before the ballots are distributed.
(ii)
If the election officer discovers an error or omission in an electronic ballot and it is not possible to correct the error or omission by revising the electronic ballot, the election officer shall direct the poll workers to post notice of each error or omission with instructions on how to correct each error or omission in a prominent position at each polling booth.
(4)
(a)
If the election officer refuses or fails to correct an error or omission in a ballot, a candidate or a candidate’s agent may file a verified petition with the district court asserting that:
(i)
an error or omission has occurred in:
(A)
the publication of the name or description of a candidate;
(B)
the preparation or display of an electronic ballot; or
(C)
the posting of sample ballots or the printing of official manual ballots; and
(ii)
the election officer has failed to correct or provide for the correction of the error or omission.
(b)
The district court shall issue an order requiring correction of any error in a ballot or an order to show cause why the error should not be corrected if it appears to the court that the error or omission has occurred and the election officer has failed to correct or provide for the correction of the error or omission.
(c)
A party aggrieved by the district court’s decision may appeal the matter to the Utah Supreme Court within five days after the day on which the district court enters the decision.
Amended by Chapter 45, 2023 General Session Amended by Chapter 435, 2023 General Session
