20A-7-609.5. Election on referendum challenging local tax law conducted entirely by mail.
(1)
An election officer may administer an election on a referendum challenging a local tax law entirely by mail.
Terms Used In Utah Code 20A-7-609.5
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
Business reply mail envelope: means an envelope that may be mailed free of charge by the sender. 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;
Local tax law: means a law, passed by a political subdivision with an annual or biannual calendar fiscal year, that increases a tax or imposes a new tax. See Utah Code 20A-7-101
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
Polling place: means a building where voting is conducted. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
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
Return envelope: means the envelope, described in Subsection 20A-3a-202(4), provided to a voter with a manual ballot:
(a)
into which the voter places the manual ballot after the voter has voted the manual ballot in order to preserve the secrecy of the voter's vote; and
(b)
that includes the voter affidavit and a place for the voter's signature. 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
Voting precinct: means the smallest geographical voting unit, established under 3. See Utah Code 20A-1-102
(2)
For purposes of an election conducted under this section, the election officer shall:
(a)
designate as the election day the day that is 30 days after the day on which the election officer complies with Subsection (2)(b); and
(b)
within 30 days after the day on which the referendum described in Subsection (1) qualifies for the ballot, mail to each registered voter within the voting precincts to which the local tax law applies:
(i)
a manual ballot;
(ii)
a statement that there will be no polling place for the election;
(iii)
a statement specifying the election day described in Subsection (2)(a);
(iv)
a business reply mail envelope;
(v)
instructions for returning the ballot that include an express notice about any relevant deadlines that the voter must meet in order for the voter’s vote to be counted;
(vi)
a warning, on a separate page of colored paper in boldface print, indicating that if the voter fails to follow the instructions included with the manual ballot, the voter will be unable to vote in that election because there will be no polling place for the election; and
(vii)
(A)
a copy of the proposition information pamphlet relating to the referendum if a proposition information pamphlet relating to the referendum was published under Section 20A-7-401.5; or
(B)
a website address where an individual may view a copy of the proposition information pamphlet described in Subsection (2)(b)(vii)(A).
(3)
An election officer who administers an election under this section shall:
(a)
(i)
obtain, in person, the signatures of each voter within that voting precinct before the election; or
(ii)
obtain the signature of each voter within the voting precinct from the county clerk; and
(b)
maintain the signatures on file in the election officer’s office.
(4)
(a)
Upon receiving a returned manual ballot under this section, the election officer shall compare the signature on each return envelope with the voter’s signature that is maintained on file and verify that the signatures are the same.
(b)
If the election officer questions the authenticity of the signature on the return envelope, the election officer shall immediately contact the voter to verify the signature.
(c)
If there is not a signature on the return envelope or if the election officer determines that the signature on the return envelope does not match the voter’s signature that is maintained on file, the election officer shall:
(i)
disqualify the ballot; and
(ii)
notify the voter of the disqualification and the reason for the disqualification.
