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H.B. 102
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ELECTION DAY MATERIALS
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2003 GENERAL SESSION
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STATE OF UTAH
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Sponsor: Loraine T. Pace
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This act modifies the Election Code by changing the requirements for certain election day
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materials including voting instructions, the official register and posting book, and voting
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booths. This act takes effect January 1, 2004.
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This act affects sections of Utah Code Annotated 1953 as follows:
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AMENDS:
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20A-5-102, as last amended by Chapter 328, Laws of Utah 2000
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20A-5-401, as last amended by Chapter 22, Laws of Utah 1999
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20A-5-403, as last amended by Chapter 167, Laws of Utah 2002
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Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
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Section 1.
Section
20A-5-102
is amended to read:
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20A-5-102. Voting instructions.
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(1) Each election officer shall:
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(a) print instruction cards for voters;
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(b) ensure that the cards are printed in English in large clear type; and
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(c) ensure that the cards instruct voters:
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(i) about how to obtain ballots for voting;
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(ii) about special political party affiliation requirements for voting in the Western
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States Presidential Primary or in a regular primary election;
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(iii) about how to prepare ballots for deposit in the ballot box;
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(iv) about how to record write-in votes;
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(v) about how to obtain a new ballot in the place of one spoiled by accident or mistake;
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(vi) about how to obtain assistance in marking ballots;
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(vii) about obtaining a new ballot if the voter's ballot is defaced; [and]
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(viii) that identification marks or the spoiling or defacing of a ballot will make it
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invalid[.];
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(ix) about how to obtain and vote a provisional ballot;
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(x) about whom to contact to report election fraud;
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(xi) about applicable federal and state laws regarding:
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(A) voting rights and the appropriate official to contact if the voter alleges his rights
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have been violated; and
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(B) prohibitions on acts of fraud and misrepresentation;
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(xii) about procedures governing mail-in registrants and first-time voters; and
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(xiii) about the date of the election and the hours that the polls are open on election
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day.
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(2) Each election officer shall:
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(a) provide the election judges of each voting precinct with sufficient instruction cards
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to instruct voters in the preparation of their ballots;
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(b) direct the election judges to post:
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(i) [at least one instruction card] general voting instructions in each voting booth; and
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(ii) at least three instruction cards and at least one sample ballot elsewhere in and about
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the polling place.
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Section 2.
Section
20A-5-401
is amended to read:
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20A-5-401. Official register and posting book -- Preparation -- Contents.
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(1) (a) Before the registration days for each regular general, municipal general, regular
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primary, municipal primary, or Western States Presidential Primary election, each county clerk
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shall prepare an official register and posting list of voters for each voting precinct that will
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participate in the election.
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(b) The county clerk shall ensure that the official register and posting list are bound or
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loose leaf books prepared for the alphabetical entry of names and ruled in columns of suitable
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dimensions to provide for the following entries:
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(i) registered voter's name;
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(ii) party affiliation;
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(iii) grounds for challenge;
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(iv) name of person challenging a voter;
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(v) ballot numbers, primary, November, special;
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(vi) date of birth;
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(vii) place of birth;
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(viii) place of current residence;
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(ix) street address;
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(x) zip code; and
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(xi) space for the voter to sign his name for each election.
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(c) When preparing the official register and posting list for the Western States
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Presidential Primary, the county clerk shall include:
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(i) a column to record the name of the political party whose ballot the voter voted; and
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(ii) a column for the election judge to record changes in the voter's party affiliation.
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(d) When preparing the official register and posting list for any regular general
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election, regular primary election, or election for federal office, the county clerk shall include:
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(i) a column that indicates if the voter is required to show identification before voting;
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(ii) a column for the election judge to record the provisional envelope ballot number
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for voters who receive a provisional ballot; and
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(iii) a space for the election judge to record the type of proof of identity and the type of
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proof of residence provided by voters who receive a provisional ballot.
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(2) (a) (i) For regular and municipal elections, primary elections, regular municipal
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elections, special district elections, and bond elections, the county clerk shall make an official
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register and posting list only for voting precincts affected by the primary, municipal, special
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district, or bond election.
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(ii) Each county clerk, with the assistance of the clerk of each affected special district,
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shall provide a detailed map or an indication on the registration list or other means to enable an
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election judge to determine the voters entitled to vote at an election of special district officers.
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(b) Municipalities shall pay the costs of making the official register and posting list for
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municipal elections.
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Section 3.
Section
20A-5-403
is amended to read:
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20A-5-403. Polling places -- Booths -- Ballot boxes -- Inspections -- Provisions --
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Arrangements.
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(1) Each election officer shall:
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(a) designate polling places for each voting precinct in the jurisdiction; and
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(b) obtain the approval of the county or municipal legislative body or special district
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governing board for those polling places.
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(2) (a) For each polling place, the election officer shall provide:
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(i) an American flag;
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(ii) a sufficient number of voting booths or compartments;
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(iii) the voting devices, voting booths, ballots, ballot boxes, ballot labels, ballot cards,
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write-in ballots, and any other records and supplies necessary to enable a voter to vote; and
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(iv) the constitutional amendment cards and voter information pamphlets required by
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Part 1[.], Election Notices and Instructions; and
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(v) the instruction cards required by Section
20A-5-102
.
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(b) Each election officer shall ensure that:
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(i) each voting booth is at [least three feet square, contains a shelf that is at least one
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foot wide extending across one side of the booth at] a convenient height for writing, and is
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arranged so that the voter can prepare his ballot screened from observation;
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(ii) there [is at least one voting booth for every 100 voters who voted at the last similar
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election in the voting precinct] are a sufficient number of voting booths to accommodate the
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voters at that polling place; and
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(iii) there is at least one voting booth that is configured to accommodate persons with
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disabilities.
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(c) Each county clerk shall provide a ballot box for each polling place that is large
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enough to properly receive and hold the ballots to be cast.
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(3) (a) As of May 15, 2003, all polling places shall be physically inspected by each
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county clerk to ensure access by people with disabilities.
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(b) Any issues concerning inaccessibility to polling places by people with a disability
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discovered during the inspections referred to in Subsection (3)(a) or reported to the county
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clerk on or after May 15, 2002 shall be:
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(i) forwarded to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor; and
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(ii) within six months of the time of the complaint, the issue of inaccessibility shall be
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either:
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(A) remedied at the particular location by the county clerk;
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(B) the county clerk shall designate an alternative accessible location for the particular
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precinct; or
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(C) if no practical solution can be identified, file with the Office of the Lieutenant
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Governor a written explanation identifying the reasons compliance cannot reasonably be met.
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(4) The municipality in which the election is held shall pay the cost of conducting each
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municipal election, including the cost of printing and supplies.
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(5) The county clerk shall make detailed entries of all proceedings had under this
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chapter.
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Section 4. Effective date.
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This act takes effect on January 1, 2004.
Legislative Review Note
as of 1-22-03 2:20 PM
A limited legal review of this legislation raises no obvious constitutional or statutory concerns.