Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

Enrolled Copy                                                                              H.B. 37
                 VOTER SIGNATURE VERIFICATION AMENDMENTS
                                       2023 GENERAL SESSION
                                            STATE OF UTAH
                                   Chief Sponsor: Steve Eliason
                                Senate Sponsor: Wayne A. Harper
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 LONG TITLE
 General Description:
         This bill addresses voter signature verification, voter accessibility, and related issues.
 Highlighted Provisions:
         This bill:
         < provides guidance for determining when a signature submitted with a ballot
 corresponds to a signature in a voter registration record;
         < establishes requirements for contacting a voter when the voter's ballot is rejected;
         < establishes record-keeping and reporting requirements in relation to rejected ballots;
         < requires an election officer to provide an accessible voting option for a voter with a
 disability;
         < requires the director of elections to make rules regarding signature verification for
 individuals who are unable to sign their name consistently due to a disability;
         < grants rulemaking authority to establish criteria, processes, and training in relation
 to signature comparison;
         < requires that election notices include instructions for how a voter with a disability
 may obtain information on voting in an accessible manner;
         < addresses the disclosure of certain information relating to a voter whose ballot is
 rejected;
         < makes it unlawful for an election officer to willfully neglect, or act corruptly in
 discharging, the election officer's duty; and
         < makes technical and conforming changes.
 Money Appropriated in this Bill:
       H.B. 37                                                                        Enrolled Copy
        None
 Other Special Clauses:
        This bill provides a coordination clause.
 Utah Code Sections Affected:
 AMENDS:
        20A-3a-202, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapters 18, 121, and 156
        20A-3a-401, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 392 and last amended by
 Coordination Clause, Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 392
        20A-5-101, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2021, First Special Session, Chapter 15
        20A-5-701, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2013, Chapter 253
 Utah Code Sections Affected by Coordination Clause:
        20A-3a-401, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2022, Chapter 392
42
 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
        Section 1. Section 20A-3a-202 is amended to read:
        20A-3a-202. Conducting election by mail.
        (1) (a) Except as otherwise provided for an election conducted entirely by mail under
 Section 20A-7-609.5, an election officer shall administer an election primarily by mail, in
 accordance with this section.
        (b) An individual who did not provide valid voter identification at the time the voter
 registered to vote shall provide valid voter identification before voting.
        (2) An election officer who administers an election:
        (a) shall in accordance with Subsection (3), no sooner than 21 days before election day
 and no later than seven days before election day, mail to each active voter within a voting
 precinct:
        (i) a manual ballot;
        (ii) a return envelope;
        (iii) instructions for returning the ballot that include an express notice about any
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       Enrolled Copy                                                                                 H.B. 37
 relevant deadlines that the voter must meet in order for the voter's vote to be counted;
         (iv) for an election administered by a county clerk, information regarding the location
 and hours of operation of any election day voting center at which the voter may vote or a
 website address where the voter may view this information;
         (v) for an election administered by an election officer other than a county clerk, if the
 election officer does not operate a polling place or an election day voting center, a warning, on
 a separate page of colored paper in bold face print, indicating that if the voter fails to follow the
 instructions included with the ballot, the voter will be unable to vote in that election because
 there will be no polling place for the voting precinct on the day of the election; and
         (vi) [after May 1, 2022,] instructions on how a voter may sign up to receive electronic
 ballot status notifications via the ballot tracking system described in Section 20A-3a-401.5;
         (b) may not mail a ballot under this section to:
         (i) an inactive voter, unless the inactive voter requests a manual ballot; or
         (ii) a voter whom the election officer is prohibited from sending a ballot under
 Subsection (10)(c)(ii); [and]
         (c) shall, on the outside of the envelope in which the election officer mails the ballot,
 include instructions for returning the ballot if the individual to whom the election officer mails
 the ballot does not live at the address to which the ballot is sent[.];
         (d) shall provide a method of accessible voting to a voter with a disability who is not
 able to vote by mail; and
         (e) shall include, on the election officer's website and with each ballot mailed,
 instructions regarding how a voter described in Subsection (2)(d) may vote.
         (3) (a) An election officer who mails a manual ballot under Subsection (2) shall mail
 the manual ballot to the address:
         (i) provided at the time of registration; or
         (ii) if, at or after the time of registration, the voter files an alternate address request
 form described in Subsection (3)(b), the alternate address indicated on the form.
         (b) The lieutenant governor shall make available to voters an alternate address request
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        H.B. 37                                                                           Enrolled Copy
 form that permits a voter to request that the election officer mail the voter's ballot to a location
 other than the voter's residence.
         (c) A voter shall provide the completed alternate address request form to the election
 officer no later than 11 days before the day of the election.
         (4) The return envelope shall include:
         (a) the name, official title, and post office address of the election officer on the front of
 the envelope;
         (b) a space where a voter may write an email address and phone number by which the
 election officer may contact the voter if the voter's ballot is rejected;
         (c) a printed affidavit in substantially the following form:
         "County of ____State of ____
         I, ____, solemnly swear that: I am a qualified resident voter of the ____ voting precinct
 in ____ County, Utah and that I am entitled to vote in this election. I am not a convicted felon
 currently incarcerated for commission of a felony.
         ______________________________
         Signature of Voter"; and
         (d) a warning that the affidavit must be signed by the individual to whom the ballot
 was sent and that the ballot will not be counted if the signature on the affidavit does not match
 the signature on file with the election officer of the individual to whom the ballot was sent.
         (5) If the election officer determines that the voter is required to show valid voter
 identification, the election officer may:
         (a) mail a ballot to the voter;
         (b) instruct the voter to include a copy of the voter's valid voter identification with the
 return ballot; and
         (c) provide instructions to the voter on how the voter may sign up to receive electronic
 ballot status notifications via the ballot tracking system described in Section 20A-3a-401.5.
         (6) An election officer who administers an election shall:
         (a) (i) before the election, obtain the signatures of each voter qualified to vote in the
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                             H.B. 37
 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.
        (7) Upon receipt of a returned ballot, the election officer shall review and process the
 ballot under Section 20A-3a-401.
        (8) A county that administers an election:
        (a) shall provide at least one election day voting center in accordance with [Chapter 3a,
 Part 7, Election Day Voting Center] Part 7, Election Day Voting Center, and at least one
 additional election day voting center for every 5,000 active voters in the county who have
 requested to not receive a ballot by mail;
        (b) shall ensure that each election day voting center operated by the county has at least
 one voting device that is accessible, in accordance with the Help America Vote Act of 2002,
 Pub. L. No. 107-252, for individuals with disabilities;
        (c) may reduce the early voting period described in Section 20A-3a-601, if:
        (i) the county clerk conducts early voting on at least four days;
        (ii) the early voting days are within the period beginning on the date that is 14 days
 before the date of the election and ending on the day before the election; and
        (iii) the county clerk provides notice of the reduced early voting period in accordance
 with Section 20A-3a-604;
        (d) is not required to pay return postage for a ballot; and
        (e) is subject to an audit conducted under Subsection (9).
        (9) (a) The lieutenant governor shall:
        (i) develop procedures for conducting an audit of affidavit signatures on ballots cast in
 an election conducted under this section; and
        (ii) after each primary, general, or special election conducted under this section, select
 a number of ballots, in varying jurisdictions, to audit in accordance with the procedures
 developed under Subsection (9)(a)(i).
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        H.B. 37                                                                          Enrolled Copy
         (b) The lieutenant governor shall post the results of an audit conducted under this
 Subsection (9) on the lieutenant governor's website.
         (10) (a) An individual may request that the election officer not send the individual a
 ballot by mail in the next and subsequent elections by submitting a written request to the
 election officer.
         (b) An individual shall submit the request described in Subsection (10)(a) to the
 election officer before 5 p.m. no later than 60 days before an election if the individual does not
 wish to receive a ballot by mail in that election.
         (c) An election officer who receives a request from an individual under Subsection
 (10)(a):
         (i) shall remove the individual's name from the list of voters who will receive a ballot
 by mail; and
         (ii) may not send the individual a ballot by mail for:
         (A) the next election, if the individual submits the request described in Subsection
 (10)(a) before the deadline described in Subsection (10)(b); or
         (B) an election after the election described in Subsection (10)(c)(ii)(A).
         (d) An individual who submits a request under Subsection (10)(a) may resume the
 individual's receipt of a ballot by mail by submitting a written request to the election officer.
         Section 2. Section 20A-3a-401 is amended to read:
         20A-3a-401. Custody of voted ballots mailed or deposited in a ballot drop box --
 Disposition -- Notice.
         (1) This section governs ballots returned by mail or via a ballot drop box.
         (2) (a) Poll workers shall open return envelopes containing manual ballots that are in
 the custody of the poll workers in accordance with [Subsection (2)(b)] this section.
         (b) The poll workers shall, first, compare the signature of the voter on the affidavit of
 the return envelope to the signature of the voter in the voter registration records.
         (3) After complying with Subsection (2), the poll workers shall determine whether:
         (a) the signatures correspond;
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                              H.B. 37
        (b) the affidavit is sufficient;
        (c) the voter is registered to vote in the correct precinct;
        (d) the voter's right to vote the ballot has been challenged;
        (e) the voter has already voted in the election;
        (f) the voter is required to provide valid voter identification; and
        (g) if the voter is required to provide valid voter identification, whether the voter has
 provided valid voter identification.
        (4) (a) The poll workers shall take the action described in Subsection (4)(b) if the poll
 workers determine [that]:
        [(i) the signatures correspond;]
        (i) in accordance with the rules made under Subsection (11):
        (A) that the signature on the affidavit of the return envelope is reasonably consistent
 with the individual's signature in the voter registration records; or
        (B) for an individual who checks the box described in Subsection (5)(c)(v), that the
 signature is verified by alternative means;
        (ii) that the affidavit is sufficient;
        (iii) that the voter is registered to vote in the correct precinct;
        (iv) that the voter's right to vote the ballot has not been challenged;
        (v) that the voter has not already voted in the election; and
        (vi) for a voter required to provide valid voter identification, that the voter has
 provided valid voter identification.
        (b) If the poll workers make all of the findings described in Subsection (4)(a), the poll
 workers shall:
        (i) remove the manual ballot from the return envelope in a manner that does not
 destroy the affidavit on the return envelope;
        (ii) ensure that the ballot does not unfold and is not otherwise examined in connection
 with the return envelope; and
        (iii) place the ballot with the other ballots to be counted.
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        H.B. 37                                                                           Enrolled Copy
         (c) If the poll workers do not make all of the findings described in Subsection (4)(a),
 the poll workers shall:
         (i) disallow the vote;
         (ii) without opening the return envelope, [mark across the face of the return envelope:]
 record the ballot as "rejected" and state the reason for the rejection; and
         [(A) "Rejected as defective"; or]
         [(B) "Rejected as not a registered voter"; and]
         (iii) place the return envelope, unopened, with the other rejected return envelopes.
         (5) (a) If the poll workers reject an individual's ballot because the poll workers
 determine, in accordance with rules made under Subsection (11), that the signature on the
 return envelope [does not match] is not reasonably consistent with the individual's signature in
 the voter registration records, the election officer shall:
         (i) contact the individual in accordance with Subsection [(7) by mail, email, text
 message, or phone, and] (6); and
         (ii) inform the individual:
         [(i)] (A) that the individual's signature is in question;
         [(ii)] (B) how the individual may resolve the issue; and
         [(iii)] (C) that, in order for the ballot to be counted, the individual is required to deliver
 to the election officer a correctly completed affidavit, provided by the county clerk, that meets
 the requirements described in Subsection [(5)(b)] (5)(c).
         (b) The election officer shall ensure that the notice described in Subsection (5)(a)
 includes:
         (i) when communicating the notice by mail, a printed copy of the affidavit described in
 Subsection (5)(c) and a courtesy reply envelope;
         (ii) when communicating the notice electronically, a link to a copy of the affidavit
 described in Subsection (5)(c) or information on how to obtain a copy of the affidavit; or
         (iii) when communicating the notice by phone, either during a direct conversation with
 the voter or in a voicemail, arrangements for the voter to receive a copy of the affidavit
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        Enrolled Copy                                                                              H.B. 37
 described in Subsection (5)(c), either in person from the clerk's office, by mail, or
 electronically.
         [(b)] (c) An affidavit described in Subsection [(5)(a)(iii)] (5)(a)(ii)(C) shall include:
         (i) an attestation that the individual voted the ballot;
         (ii) a space for the individual to enter the individual's name, date of birth, and driver
 license number or the last four digits of the individual's social security number;
         (iii) a space for the individual to sign the affidavit; [and]