20A-6-402. Ballots for municipal general elections.
(1)
Except as otherwise required for a race conducted by instant runoff voting under 6, for a manual ballot at a municipal general election, an election officer shall ensure that:
Terms Used In Utah Code 20A-6-402
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
Convention: means the political party convention at which party officers and delegates are selected. 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;
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
Mechanical ballot: means a record, including a paper record, electronic record, or mechanical record, that:
(a)
is created via electronic or mechanical means; and
(b)
records an individual voter's vote cast via a method other than an individual directly placing a mark, using a pen or other marking instrument, to record an individual voter's vote. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
Municipal general election: means the election held in municipalities and, as applicable, special districts on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November of each odd-numbered year for the purposes established in Section 20A-1-202. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
Municipal primary election: means an election held to nominate candidates for municipal office. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
Municipality: means a city, town, or metro township. 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
Signature: includes a name, mark, or sign written with the intent to authenticate an instrument or writing. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
Town: includes , depending on population, a metro township as defined in Section 10-3c-102. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
Valid write-in candidate: means a candidate who has qualified as a write-in candidate by following the procedures and requirements of this title. 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)
the names of the two candidates who received the highest number of votes for mayor in the municipal primary are placed upon the ballot;
(b)
if no municipal primary election was held, the names of the candidates who filed declarations of candidacy for municipal offices are placed upon the ballot;
(c)
for other offices:
(i)
twice the number of candidates as there are positions to be filled are certified as eligible for election in the municipal general election from those candidates who received the greater number of votes in the primary election; and
(ii)
the names of those candidates are placed upon the municipal general election ballot;
(d)
the names of the candidates are placed on the ballot in the order specified under Section 20A-6-305;
(e)
in an election in which a voter is authorized to cast a write-in vote and where a write-in candidate is qualified under Section 20A-9-601, a write-in area is placed upon the ballot that contains, for each office in which there is a qualified write-in candidate:
(i)
a blank, horizontal line to enable a voter to submit a valid write-in candidate; and
(ii)
a square or other conforming area that is adjacent to or opposite the blank horizontal line to enable the voter to indicate the voter’s vote;
(f)
ballot propositions that have qualified for the ballot, including propositions submitted to the voters by the municipality, municipal initiatives, and municipal referenda, are listed on the ballot in accordance with Section 20A-6-107; and
(g)
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.
(2)
Except as otherwise required for a race conducted by instant runoff voting under 6, when using a mechanical ballot at municipal general elections, each election officer shall ensure that:
(a)
the following endorsements are displayed on the first portion of the ballot:
(i)
“Official Ballot for ____ (City, Town, or Metro Township), Utah”;
(ii)
the date of the election; and
(iii)
a facsimile of the signature of the election officer and the election officer’s title;
(b)
immediately below the election officer’s title, a distinct border or line separates the endorsements from the rest of the ballot;
(c)
immediately below the border or line, an “Instructions to Voters” section is displayed that states: “To vote for a candidate, select the name(s) of the person(s) you favor as the candidate(s) for each respective office.” followed by another border or line;
(d)
after the border or line, the designation of the office for which the candidates seek election is displayed, and the words, “Vote for one” or “Vote for up to _____ (the number of candidates for which the voter may vote)” are displayed, followed by a line or border;
(e)
after the line or border, the names of the candidates are displayed in the order specified under Section 20A-6-305 with surnames last and grouped according to the office that they seek;
(f)
a voting square or position is located adjacent to the name of each candidate;
(g)
following the name of the last candidate for each office in which a write-in candidate is qualified under Section 20A-9-601, the ballot contains a write-in space where the voter may enter the name of and vote for a valid write-in candidate for the office; and
(h)
the candidate groups are separated from each other by a line or border.
(3)
When a municipality has chosen to nominate candidates by convention or committee, the election officer shall ensure that the party name is included with the candidate’s name on the ballot.
