This bill amends provisions relating to elections.
This bill:
- defines terms;
- requires the lieutenant governor to create a written conflict of interest avoidance plan;
- modifies provisions relating to filling an office vacancy;
- provides that if a vacancy in an elected office is filled by appointment, the appointee shall be a member of the same political party of which the prior officeholder was a member at the time the prior officeholder was last elected or appointed;
- establishes a process to fill a vacancy created by an officeholder who was not affiliated with a political party at the time the officeholder was last elected or appointed;
- provides a process for an election officer to independently determine whether a registered voter is a citizen of the United States;
- provides a process to challenge a determination of non-citizenship under the preceding paragraph;
- prohibits an individual from voting if an election officer independently determines that the voter is not a citizen of the United States and the individual does not successfully dispute the determination;
- creates a bifurcated ballot system, beginning on January 1, 2028, where:
a voter chooses whether to provide documentary proof of United States citizenship when registering to vote or before voting; anda voter who does not provide documentary proof of United States citizenship may only vote in races for federal office;
- modifies voter registration forms and requirements consistent with the bifurcated ballot system;
- establishes procedures for administration of the bifurcated ballot system;
- modifies voter registration list requirements in relation to the bifurcated ballot system;
- subject to certain exceptions, provides that, when poll workers verify a voter's identity in relation to a ballot returned by mail, the poll workers are required to verify the signature on the affidavit in addition to the last four digits of an identification number;
- modifies and recodifies provisions relating to:the information in a voter registration record that is available to a person based on the capacity in which the person requests the information; andthe requirements to obtain additional privacy protection for a voter registration record;
- provides that a voter's voter registration record that, before January 1, 2027, was classified as private without requiring a reason for the classification will be reclassified as a public voter registration record, unless the voter takes certain action to obtain additional protection for the voter's voter registration record;
- requires an election officer to notify a voter whose voter registration is subject to reclassification as described in the preceding paragraph in order to give the voter an opportunity to apply for additional protection for the voter's voter registration record;
- requires the assignment of new voter identification numbers;
- modifies the voter registration form to reflect the changes made in this bill and to give a voter the option of opting into receiving electronic communications from a political party with which the voter affiliates;
- provides for release to a political party of information relating to the number of at-risk voters in the state and in individual state House of Representatives districts;
- establishes additional requirements to ensure the removal of deceased individuals from voter registration records;
- modifies penalties that may be imposed in relation to the unlawful disclosure of a voter registration record;
- places a cap on the fee that may be charged to obtain an electronic copy of the voter registration list;
- requires the lieutenant governor to conduct an audit of voter registration records to determine whether the lieutenant governor or a county clerk has documentary proof of United States citizenship for each record and to notify registered voters for whom the lieutenant governor or a county clerk does not have documentary proof of United States citizenship;
- modifies the number of signatures that a qualified political party candidate for a county office is required to collect to qualify for placement on the primary election ballot;
- requires an incumbent county clerk who is running for reelection to contract with another county clerk to provide certain services in relation to verifying candidate signatures for the race;
- modifies a provision relating to the frequency of an elections audit performed by the Office of the Legislative Auditor General;
- permits the use of campaign funds for certain goods or services relating to security; and
- makes technical and conforming changes.Statutes affected:
Introduced: 17-69-202, 17-70-403, 20A-1-102, 20A-1-502, 20A-1-503, 20A-1-504, 20A-1-508, 20A-1-509.1, 20A-1-509.2, 20A-1-513, 20A-2-101.1, 20A-2-104, 20A-2-108, 20A-2-204, 20A-2-206, 20A-2-304, 20A-2-502, 20A-2-504, 20A-2-505, 20A-5-410, 20A-6-105, 20A-9-408, 20A-11-104, 20A-11-204, 20A-11-1303, 20A-11-1604, 36-12-15.2, 63G-2-202, 63G-2-301, 63G-2-302, 63G-2-303
Substitute #1: 17-69-202, 17-70-403, 20A-1-102, 20A-1-502, 20A-1-503, 20A-1-504, 20A-1-508, 20A-1-509.1, 20A-1-509.2, 20A-1-513, 20A-2-101.1, 20A-2-104, 20A-2-108, 20A-2-204, 20A-2-206, 20A-2-304, 20A-2-502, 20A-2-504, 20A-2-505, 20A-5-410, 20A-6-105, 20A-9-408, 20A-11-104, 20A-11-204, 20A-11-1303, 20A-11-1604, 36-12-15.2, 63G-2-202, 63G-2-301, 63G-2-302, 63G-2-303