20A-7-105. Manual petition processes — Obtaining signatures — Verification — Submitting the petition — Certification of signatures — Transfer to lieutenant governor — Removal of signature.
(1)
This section applies only to the manual initiativeprocess and the manual referendum process.
Terms Used In Utah Code 20A-7-105
Certified: means that the county clerk has acknowledged a signature as being the signature of a registered voter. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
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
Initiative: means a new law proposed for adoption by the public as provided in this chapter. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
Initiative packet: means a copy of the initiative petition, a copy of the proposed law, and the signature sheets, all of which have been bound together as a unit. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
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.
Legal voter: means an individual who is registered to vote in Utah. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
Legislative session: That part of a chamber's daily session in which it considers legislative business (bills, resolutions, and actions related thereto).
Local clerk: means the county clerk, city recorder, or town clerk in whose jurisdiction a local initiative or referendum petition is circulated. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
Manual referendum process: means the process for gathering signatures for a referendum using paper signature packets that a signer physically signs. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
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
Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of a judicial proceeding. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
Referendum: means a process by which a law passed by the Legislature or by a local legislative body is submitted or referred to the voters for their approval or rejection. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
Referendum packet: means a copy of the referendum petition, a copy of the law being submitted or referred to the voters for their approval or rejection, and the signature sheets, all of which have been bound together as a unit. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
Referendum petition: means :
(a)
as it relates to a statewide referendum, using the manual referendum process, the form described in Subsection 20A-7-303(2)(a), petitioning for submission of a law passed by the Legislature to legal voters for their approval or rejection;
(b)
as it relates to a statewide referendum, using the electronic referendum process, the form described in Subsection 20A-7-313(2), petitioning for submission of a law passed by the Legislature to legal voters for their approval or rejection;
(c)
as it relates to a local referendum, using the manual referendum process, the form described in Subsection 20A-7-603(2)(a), petitioning for submission of a local law to legal voters for their approval or rejection; or
(d)
as it relates to a local referendum, using the electronic referendum process, the form described in Subsection 20A-7-614(2), petitioning for submission of a local law to legal voters for their approval or rejection. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
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
Signature: includes a name, mark, or sign written with the intent to authenticate an instrument or writing. See Utah Code 68-3-12.5
Sponsors: means the legal voters who support the initiative or referendum and who sign the initiative application or referendum application. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
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
Utah Code: means the 1953 recodification of the Utah Code, as amended, unless the text expressly references a portion of the 1953 recodification of the Utah Code as it existed:Utah Code 68-3-12.5
Verified: means acknowledged by the person circulating the petition as required in Section 20A-7-105. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
a manual local initiative petition described in 5; or
(ii)
a manual local referendum petition described in 6.
(b)
“Packet” means an initiative packet or referendum packet.
(c)
“Petition” means a local petition or statewide petition.
(d)
“Statewide petition” means:
(i)
a manual statewide initiative petition described in 2; or
(ii)
a manual statewide referendum petition described in 3.
(3)
(a)
A Utah voter may sign a statewide petition if the voter is a legal voter.
(b)
A Utah voter may sign a local petition if the voter:
(i)
is a legal voter; and
(ii)
resides in the local jurisdiction.
(4)
(a)
The sponsors shall ensure that the individual in whose presence each signature sheet was signed:
(i)
is at least 18 years old and meets the residency requirements of Section 20A-2-105;
(ii)
verifies each signature sheet by completing the verification printed on the last page of each packet; and
(iii)
is informed that each signer is required to read and understand:
(A)
for an initiative petition, the law proposed by the initiative; or
(B)
for a referendum petition, the law that the referendum seeks to overturn.
(b)
An individual may not sign the verification printed on the last page of a packet if the individual signed a signature sheet in the packet.
(5)
(a)
The sponsors, or an agent of the sponsors, shall submit a signed and verified packet to the county clerk of the county in which the packet was circulated before 5 p.m. no later than the earlier of:
(i)
for a statewide initiative:
(A)
30 days after the day on which the first individual signs the initiative packet;
(B)
316 days after the day on which the application for the initiative petition is filed; or
(C)
the February 15 immediately before the next regular general election immediately after the application is filed under Section 20A-7-202;
(ii)
for a statewide referendum:
(A)
30 days after the day on which the first individual signs the referendum packet; or
(B)
40 days after the day on which the legislative session at which the law passed ends;
(iii)
for a local initiative:
(A)
30 days after the day on which the first individual signs the initiative packet;
(B)
316 days after the day on which the application is filed;
(C)
the April 15 immediately before the next regular general election immediately after the application is filed under Section 20A-7-502, if the local initiative is a county initiative; or
(D)
the April 15 immediately before the next municipal general election immediately after the application is filed under Section 20A-7-502, if the local initiative is a municipal initiative; or
(iv)
for a local referendum:
(A)
30 days after the day on which the first individual signs the referendum packet; or
(B)
45 days after the day on which the sponsors receive the items described in Subsection 20A-7-604(3) from the local clerk.
(b)
A person may not submit a packet after the applicable deadline described in Subsection (5)(a).
(c)
Before delivering an initiative packet to the county clerk under this Subsection (5), the sponsors shall send an email to each individual who provides a legible, valid email address on the signature sheet that includes the following:
(i)
the subject of the email shall include the following statement, “Notice Regarding Your Petition Signature”; and
(ii)
the body of the email shall include the following statement in 12-point type: “You signed a petition for the following initiative: [insert title of initiative] To access a copy of the initiative petition, the initiative, the fiscal impact statement, and information on the deadline for removing your signature from the petition, please visit the following link: [insert a uniform resource locator that takes the individual directly to the page on the lieutenant governor’s or county clerk’s website that includes the information referred to in the email].”
(d)
When the sponsors submit the last initiative packet to the county clerk, the sponsors shall submit to the county clerk:
(i)
a list containing:
(A)
the name and email address of each individual the sponsors sent, or caused to be sent, the email described in Subsection (5)(c); and
(B)
the date the email was sent;
(ii)
a copy of the email described in Subsection (5)(c); and
(iii)
the following written verification, completed and signed by each of the sponsors: “Verification of initiative sponsor State of Utah, County of __________I, __________, of __________, hereby state, under penalty of perjury, that: I am a sponsor of the initiative petition entitled ____________________; and I sent, or caused to be sent, to each individual who provided a legible, valid email address on a signature sheet submitted to the county clerk in relation to the initiative petition, the email described in Utah Code Subsection 20A-7-105(5)(c). ______________________________________________________________ __
(Name) (Residence Address) (Date)”.
(e)
Signatures gathered for an initiative petition are not valid if the sponsors do not comply with Subsection (5)(c) or (d).
(6)
(a)
Within 21 days after the day on which the county clerk receives the packet, the county clerk shall:
(i)
use the procedures described in Section 20A-1-1002 to determine whether each signer is a legal voter and, as applicable, the jurisdiction where the signer is registered to vote;
(ii)
for a statewide initiative or a statewide referendum:
(A)
certify on the petition whether each name is that of a legal voter;
(B)
post the name, voter identification number, and date of signature of each legal voter certified under Subsection (6)(a)(ii)(A) on the lieutenant governor’s website, in a conspicuous location designated by the lieutenant governor; and
(C)
deliver the verified packet to the lieutenant governor;
(iii)
for a local initiative or a local referendum:
(A)
certify on the petition whether each name is that of a legal voter who is registered in the jurisdiction to which the initiative or referendum relates;
(B)
post the name, voter identification number, and date of signature of each legal voter certified under Subsection (6)(a)(iii)(A) on the lieutenant governor’s website, in a conspicuous location designated by the lieutenant governor; and
(C)
deliver the verified packet to the local clerk.
(b)
For a local initiative or local referendum, the local clerk shall post a link in a conspicuous location on the local government’s website to the posting described in Subsection (6)(a)(iii)(B):
(i)
for a local initiative, during the period of time described in Subsection 20A-7-507(3)(a); or
(ii)
for a local referendum, during the period of time described in Subsection 20A-7-607(2)(a)(i).
(7)
The county clerk may not certify a signature under Subsection (6):
(a)
on a packet that is not verified in accordance with Subsection (4); or
(b)
that does not have a date of signature next to the signature.
(8)
(a)
A voter who signs a statewide initiative petition may have the voter’s signature removed from the petition by submitting to the county clerk a statement requesting that the voter’s signature be removed no later than the earlier of:
(i)
for an initiative packet received by the county clerk before December 1:
(A)
30 days after the day on which the voter signs the signature removal statement; or
(B)
90 days after the day on which the lieutenant governor posts the voter’s name under Subsection 20A-7-207(2); or
(ii)
for an initiative packet received by the county clerk on or after December 1:
(A)
30 days after the day on which the voter signs the signature removal statement; or
(B)
45 days after the day on which the lieutenant governor posts the voter’s name under Subsection 20A-7-207(2).
(b)
A voter who signs a statewide referendum petition may have the voter’s signature removed from the petition by submitting to the county clerk a statement requesting that the voter’s signature be removed no later than the earlier of:
(i)
30 days after the day on which the voter signs the statement requesting removal; or
(ii)
45 days after the day on which the lieutenant governor posts the voter’s name under Subsection 20A-7-307(2).
(c)
A voter who signs a local initiative petition may have the voter’s signature removed from the petition by submitting to the county clerk a statement requesting that the voter’s signature be removed no later than the earlier of:
(i)
30 days after the day on which the voter signs the signature removal statement;
(ii)
90 days after the day on which the local clerk posts the voter’s name under Subsection 20A-7-507(2);
(iii)
316 days after the day on which the application is filed; or
(iv)
(A)
for a county initiative, April 15 immediately before the next regular general election immediately after the application is filed under Section 20A-7-502; or
(B)
for a municipal initiative, April 15 immediately before the next municipal general election immediately after the application is filed under Section 20A-7-502.
(d)
A voter who signs a local referendum petition may have the voter’s signature removed from the petition by submitting to the county clerk a statement requesting that the voter’s signature be removed no later than the earlier of:
(i)
30 days after the day on which the voter signs the statement requesting removal; or
(ii)
45 days after the day on which the local clerk posts the voter’s name under Subsection 20A-7-607(2)(a).
(e)
A statement described in this Subsection (8) shall comply with the requirements described in Subsection 20A-1-1003(2).
(f)
In order for the signature to be removed, the county clerk must receive the statement described in this Subsection (8) before 5 p.m. no later than the applicable deadline described in this Subsection (8).
(g)
A county clerk shall analyze a signature, for purposes of removing a signature from a petition, in accordance with Subsection 20A-1-1003(3).
(9)
(a)
If the county clerk timely receives a statement requesting signature removal under Subsection (8) and determines that the signature should be removed from the petition under Subsection 20A-1-1003(3), the county clerk shall:
(i)
ensure that the voter’s name, voter identification number, and date of signature are not included in the posting described in Subsection (6)(a)(ii)(B) or (iii)(B); and
(ii)
remove the voter’s signature from the signature packets and signature packet totals.
(b)
The county clerk shall comply with Subsection (9)(a) before the later of:
(i)
the deadline described in Subsection (6)(a); or
(ii)
two business days after the day on which the county clerk receives a statement requesting signature removal under Subsection (8).
(10)
A person may not retrieve a packet from a county clerk, or make any alterations or corrections to a packet, after the packet is submitted to the county clerk.
