20A-6-301.  Manual ballots — Regular general election.

(1)  Each election officer shall ensure that:

Terms Used In Utah Code 20A-6-301

  • 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;
(b) the county clerk for:
(i) a county ballot and election; and
(ii) a ballot and election as a provider election officer as provided in Section 20A-5-400. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
  • Political party: means an organization of registered voters that has qualified to participate in an election by meeting the requirements of Chapter 8, Political Party Formation and Procedures. 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
  • 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
  • Ticket: means a list of:
    (a) political parties;
    (b) candidates for an office; or
    (c) ballot propositions. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
  • Voter: means an individual who:
    (a) meets the requirements for voting in an election;
    (b) meets the requirements of election registration;
    (c) is registered to vote; and
    (d) is listed in the official register book. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
  • Write-in vote: means a vote cast for an individual, whose name is not printed on the ballot, in accordance with the procedures established in this title. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
  • (a)  all manual ballots furnished for use at the regular general election contain:

    (i)  no captions or other endorsements except as provided in this section;

    (ii)  no symbols, markings, or other descriptions of a political party or group, except for a registered political party that has chosen to nominate its candidates in accordance with Section 20A-9-403; and

    (iii)  no indication that a candidate for elective office has been nominated by, or has been endorsed by, or is in any way affiliated with a political party or group, unless the candidate has been nominated by a registered political party in accordance with Subsection 20A-9-202(4) or Subsection 20A-9-403(5);

    (b)  at the top of the ballot, the following endorsements are printed in 18 point bold type:

    (i)  “Official Ballot for ____ County, Utah”;

    (ii)  the date of the election; and

    (iii)  the words “certified by the Clerk of __________ County” or, as applicable, the name of a combined office that includes the duties of a county clerk;

    (c)  unaffiliated candidates, candidates not affiliated with a registered political party, and all other candidates for elective office who were not nominated by a registered political party in accordance with Subsection 20A-9-202(4) or Subsection 20A-9-403(5), are listed with the other candidates for the same office in accordance with Section 20A-6-305, without a party name or title;

    (d)  each ticket containing the lists of candidates, including the party name and device, are separated by heavy parallel lines;

    (e)  the offices to be filled are plainly printed immediately above the names of the candidates for those offices;

    (f)  the names of candidates are printed in capital letters, not less than one-eighth nor more than one-fourth of an inch high in heavy-faced type not smaller than 10 point, between lines or rules three-eighths of an inch apart; and

    (g)  on a ticket for a race in which a voter is authorized to cast a write-in vote and in which a write-in candidate is qualified under Section 20A-9-601:

    (i)  the ballot includes a space for a write-in candidate immediately following the last candidate listed on that ticket; or

    (ii)  for the offices of president and vice president and governor and lieutenant governor, the ballot includes two spaces for write-in candidates immediately following the last candidates on that ticket, one placed above the other, to enable the entry of two valid write-in candidates.
  • (2)  An election officer shall ensure that:

    (a)  each individual nominated by any registered political party under Subsection 20A-9-202(4) or Subsection 20A-9-403(5), and no other individual, is placed on the ballot:

    (i)  under the registered political party’s name, if any; or

    (ii)  under the title of the registered political party as designated by them in their certificates of nomination or petition, or, if none is designated, then under some suitable title;

    (b)  the names of all unaffiliated candidates that qualify as required in 5, are placed on the ballot;

    (c)  the names of the candidates for president and vice president are used on the ballot instead of the names of the presidential electors; and

    (d)  the ballots contain no other names.

    (3)  When the ballot contains a nonpartisan section, the election officer shall ensure that:

    (a)  the designation of the office to be filled in the election and the number of candidates to be elected are printed in type not smaller than eight point;

    (b)  the words designating the office are printed flush with the left-hand margin;

    (c)  the words, “Vote for one” or “Vote for up to _____ (the number of candidates for which the voter may vote)” extend to the extreme right of the column;

    (d)  the nonpartisan candidates are grouped according to the office for which they are candidates;

    (e)  the names in each group are placed in the order specified under Section 20A-6-305 with the surnames last; and

    (f)  each group is preceded by the designation of the office for which the candidates seek election, and the words, “Vote for one” or “Vote for up to _____ (the number of candidates for which the voter may vote),” according to the number to be elected.

    (4)  Each election officer shall ensure that:

    (a)  proposed amendments to the Utah Constitution are listed on the ballot in accordance with Section 20A-6-107;

    (b)  ballot propositions submitted to the voters are listed on the ballot in accordance with Section 20A-6-107;

    (c)  bond propositions that have qualified for the ballot are listed on the ballot under the title assigned to each bond proposition under Section 11-14-206; and

    (d)  the judicial retention section of the ballot includes a statement at the beginning directing voters to the Judicial Performance Evaluation Commission’s website in accordance with Subsection 20A-12-201(4).

    Amended by Chapter 136, 2021 General Session