This information has been updated for the 2026 Utah General Election.

Current Voting Issues

Amendment B

In Utah, when politicians won’t act, the people can.

Today

More than 50%

If the Legislature refuses to act on an issue, Utahns can collect enough signatures across the state to place it on the ballot. If that issue receives more than 50 percent of the vote, it becomes law.

Under Amendment B

60%

Amendment B would substantively change Utah’s initiative process by permanently changing Utah’s Constitution to require certain citizen initiatives to receive 60% of the vote instead of a simple majority. This means an initiative could receive support from a majority of Utah voters and still fail.

For more than 125 years, Utahns have had the constitutional right to use ballot initiatives to put issues directly before voters.

The Constitution is the backbone of Utah, and changing it should not be taken lightly. Amendment B would permanently change the rules for certain citizen initiatives, allowing them to fail even when a majority of Utah voters support them.

Judiciary

Modern Challenges and Structural Shifts

In recent years, institutional tensions between the Utah Legislature and the Judiciary have increased. Following high-profile rulings on topics like redistricting and ballot initiatives, some lawmakers have accused the courts of “judicial activism.” The Judiciary maintains that reviewing the constitutionality of a statute is mandatory, not a political choice, with Chief Justice Durrant noting that “judicial activism” has increasingly been reduced to meaning simply “a decision I disagree with.”

“A decision I disagree with.”

Chief Justice Durrant, on how “judicial activism” has increasingly been used

This tension has manifested in significant statutory changes and proposed legislation aimed at shifting the balance of power toward political control:

2023

Nominating Commission Alterations

In 2023, the Legislature eliminated the long-standing statutory requirements for political bipartisanship and lay-attorney balance on Judicial Nominating Commissions, granting the Governor total appointment discretion. Critics and legal scholars note this has resulted in an acute drop in diversity among judicial finalists; since the change, the appellate nominating commission has failed to advance a single female finalist for the Supreme Court, favoring a homogeneous group of male nominees with similar backgrounds.

Passed, 2025–2026

Passed Legislation

Measures have successfully passed to:

  • SB 1003Allow the Governor to appoint the Chief Justice for limited terms
  • SB 134Expand the Supreme Court from 5 to 7 justices
  • SB 204Establish mandatory fast-tracked injunction appeals
  • HB 293 / HB 366Create specialized 3-judge panels to hear constitutional challenges

Not yet adopted

Proposals Not Yet Adopted

Other bills sought to:

  • HJR 005Bypass the merit system entirely
  • HB 600Subject constitutional rulings to statewide referendums
  • HB 512Trigger political judicial evaluations
  • HB 451 / HB 262Raise the required voter approval threshold for judicial retention to 67%

Furthermore, public rhetoric regarding the impeachment of judges over unfavorable rulings has increased, prompting the Utah State Bar to strongly condemn such efforts as direct threats to the separation of powers and the rule of law. Protecting the mechanisms that safeguard impartial judgment from an independent judiciary remains essential to preventing the courts from becoming an extension of partisan politics.

Election Officials

Challenges and the Information Landscape

The Lieutenant Governor’s Office

Utah election officials have faced an unusually complex set of legal, administrative and public-trust challenges heading into the 2026 election cycle. The Lieutenant Governor’s Office has been challenged by legislative scrutiny over voter-list maintenance and allegations concerning noncitizen voting, even as state reviews have identified only a small number of noncitizens on the rolls and Utah law already provides multiple mechanisms for verifying voter eligibility and maintaining registration records.

At the same time, the office has had to respond to federal demands for voter-registration data and warnings of potential criminal liability related to noncitizen voting, while navigating disputes over the privacy of Utah voters’ information. The Lt. Governor also has had to implement a congressional district map imposed through court proceedings after litigation over Utah’s redistricting law, requiring coordination with all 29 counties and significant changes to election-management systems and precinct assignments. These issues have unfolded alongside rapidly changing election requirements and persistent misinformation about the prevalence of noncitizen voting and the security and administration of Utah elections.

County Clerks

County clerks face many of the same pressures at the local level, where state and federal requirements must be translated into operational procedures, often within fixed election calendars and with limited resources. New or expanded statutory requirements can create additional work without corresponding funding or staffing, while procedures such as ballot-envelope review, voter verification and signature-cure processes require careful handling and documentation.

County offices must also meet increasingly compressed deadlines for reporting and posting results, while maintaining secure facilities, protecting election workers and responding to threats or public concerns. Utah’s recent legislative audit, for example, identified physical-security issues involving election computers in two counties, while county election offices continue to recruit additional temporary and election-day personnel. The broader environment has also included reduced federal election-security support and guidance, increased attention to the physical safety of election workers, and continuing misinformation that can undermine public confidence in the election process and infrastructure.

The Information Landscape

Driven by proliferation of misleading social media posts and rapid AI-driven deception, the current information landscape presents critical challenges for both voters and election officials alike. Election officials are spending increasing time explaining and defending established election procedures, while voters must navigate an increasingly complex information environment to understand how elections work and cast a valid ballot.

Legislation

Updates from 2026 Legislation

House Bill 209: What You Need to Know

What is HB 209?

HB 209 was passed in the 2026 Legislative session and is modeled after the proposed federal SAVE Act. This law requires certification of U.S. citizenship to vote in the state of Utah. Note that the law only requires proof of citizenship to vote in state elections, meaning that voters will be able to vote in federal elections regardless of citizenship verification (so long as the Federal SAVE Act does not pass).

This means that HB 209 creates a two-tier ballot system: A Standard Ballot and a Federal-Only Ballot. This will go into effect on November 1, 2026, before the General Election.

What is the two-tier ballot system?

Standard Ballot

Voters whose U.S. citizenship has been verified may vote in ALL races/ALL Elections:

  • Federal (U.S. President, Congress)
  • State (Governor, Executive, Legislature, State School Board)
  • Local (county, city, school board)
  • State ballot measures/initiatives

Federal-Only Ballot

Voters whose citizenship has not been verified and who do not provide proof of citizenship may vote in federal races/elections:

  • U.S. President
  • U.S. Senate
  • U.S. House of Representatives

What do voters need to do to be eligible to vote on a state ballot?

To receive a Standard Ballot, you must provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote, or before voting. Proof of citizenship must be submitted by noon the day before canvass, which is a post-election practice that confirms that all valid ballots that are cast are accurately counted and included in the final election results.

The following documentation can be used to prove U.S. Citizenship:

  • Current Utah Driver license verifying citizenship
  • Utah State identification card number
  • U.S. passport
  • Legible copy of a Birth Certificate
  • Legible copy of an individual’s U.S. Passport
  • Alien registration number
  • U.S. Naturalization documents
  • Birth certificate
  • U.S. Naturalization document/certificate
  • Bureau of Indian Affairs card number, tribal treaty card number, or tribal enrollment number
  • Certificate of degree of Indian Blood or Bureau of Indian Affairs affidavit of birth
  • Other documents or methods of proving United States citizenship that are established in accordance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986.

How to ensure eligibility

Over 95%The state elections office estimates that it will be able to independently verify the citizenship of over 95% of registered voters using the SSA database, driver’s license database, SAVE system and other state and federal databases.

The state elections office and the county clerks will be able to verify citizenship for the majority of registered voters. This means that no additional action will be needed from those voters.

If a voter’s citizenship is not able to be verified this way, the voter will receive a letter notification, as well as either a text message or email notification (if they provided that contact information when registering to vote) sometime over the summer 2026. The state elections office estimated they will finish their initial review and start sending notifications by the end of June, though they estimate only about 400-500 voters statewide will be affected.

If someone is notified that they need to provide proof of citizenship, they will need to follow the directions provided to them on the notification by the county clerk, likely instructing them to mail or email the documents or bring them to the clerk’s office in person. Any impacted voter should do this as soon as possible ahead of the general election date.

For those voters whose citizenship was not verified and who do not provide proof of citizenship prior to the general election, they may still vote on either a federal-only or full provisional standard ballot, which is a ballot that records your vote when there are questions about eligibility.

If a voter casts a provisional standard ballot, they have until noon on the last business day before the day of the applicable canvass to cure their ballot by providing proof of citizenship to their county clerk’s office. If they fail to do so by the deadline the federal portion of the ballot will still be counted while the state portion will be omitted.

Requirements for Mail Ballot Envelopes and Ballot Return Deadline

When returning a ballot by mail:

  • You must include the last 4 digits of your Utah Driver’s License or state ID, OR last 4 digits of your Social Security Number.
  • Through 2029, election officials may still use signature verification if this information is missing.
  • Plan ahead: Mail ballots must be received by election officials no later than 8:00 p.m. Election Day.

Why should you be concerned?

Nearly 700,000Utah women have a birth certificate that no longer matches their current name, as of 2024, according to the Center for American Progress.

Over 1 million (40%)of Utahns did not have a valid passport as of 2024.

HB 209 requires proof of citizenship to vote, potentially affecting thousands of eligible voters in the state of Utah who may not have access to required documents. HB 209 will significantly impact eligible youth, female, low-income, senior, and rural voters across Utah.

Notably, those who have changed their names, including married women, will be significantly impacted because they would need additional documents to prove their name change, such as a marriage certificate. This adds extra time and costs to simply register to vote.

This significantly impacts lower-income voters, seniors, and young people who do not travel internationally and may not have the time or means to obtain a passport or copies of their birth certificate.

HB 209 creates barriers for eligible voters to participate in elections, in turn, threatening participatory democracy.

Senate Bill 153: What You Need to Know

What is SB 153?

In the 2026 Legislative session, SB 153 was passed, removing voter record privacy protections. As of May 25, 2026, the protected statuses of ‘Private’ and ‘Withheld’ have been removed.

Public voter registration records will be available to anyone who purchases the statewide list from the Lieutenant Governor’s office or a smaller subsection of the list from a county clerk for $1,050.

Public

A voter’s public voter registration record will include:

  • Full legal name
  • Voter identification number
  • Residential address
  • Mailing address
  • Voting precinct and districts
  • Party affiliation
  • Status as an active or inactive voter
  • Voter registration update date
  • A list of elections in which the voter has voted

Not public

SB 153 will NOT publicly disclose the following information:

  • Social Security Number
  • Driver’s license or state identification number
  • Full dates of birth
  • Email address
  • Phone number
  • Signatures

This type of information was public until the Utah Legislature passed a law in 2018 allowing Utahns to opt into a “withheld” status to keep their voter registration records private. As of May 2026, these records will be reclassified as public unless voters apply for additional protection.

Petition Signing and Privacy

Even if you are an At-Risk Voter, signing a petition may result in limited public disclosure. This may include voter ID and signature date.

My record was private, what happens now?

If your record was private, you should have received a mail notice explaining your status change and the next steps on how to apply for privacy protection if eligible. If you have questions about your privacy status, please contact the County Elections office.

How do I keep my information private?

Voters who meet the qualifications for an ‘At-Risk Voter’ status may keep their voting records private. If you are not eligible, your records will remain public.

You may qualify if you are, or live with someone who is:

  • Victims, or threatened victims, of domestic or dating violence
  • Law enforcement officers
  • Active military members
  • Public figures as defined under Utah Law
  • Individuals protected by a court order

The application process for an ‘At-Risk Voter’ status runs on a rolling basis, meaning that processes and decisions are handled continuously as they are received. For those applying after May 6, 2026, records may be public until approved for removal.

The forms are available at county clerk offices or online.

At-Risk Voter forms

Why should you be concerned?

Nearly 300,000Utah voters who ‘withheld’ their registration records were impacted.

About 1 millionvoters previously fell under the ‘private’ status option.

1.3 millionvoters affected in all.

Exposing sensitive voter data in the digital age poses risk to privacy and the misuse of personal data. This may in turn lead to reduced voting registrations and voting participation.

SB 153 undermines Utah’s secure election system and threatens the protection of Utahns’ private information.

House Bill 300: What You Need to Know

What is HB 300?

The state of Utah introduced Vote by Mail (VBM) in 2004, and it quickly became a trusted, effective method of casting a ballot. In recent elections, about 96% of Utahns used the VBM system. In 2025, the Utah Legislature passed H.B. 300, a restrictive law that rolls back voter access through the creation of new barriers that disenfranchise voters across the state and will ultimately end Utah’s universal VBM system by 2029.

In effect now

What changes are already in effect under HB 300?

Mail-in ballots must now be received by election officials by 8 p.m. on Election Day. Previously, a ballot would still be counted if it arrived within two weeks of Election Day so long as it had been postmarked by the day prior to Election Day. This policy accounted for postal delays and benefited voters, especially those from rural areas where mail is routed out of state before it is delivered. For example, in 2024 about 2,000 Utahns had their mail-in ballots processed by the post office within the two-week grace period before the Election deadline. However, under HB 300, voters must now mail their ballot far enough in advance of Election Day to ensure that it is received by 8 p.m. on Election Day.

To verify their mail-in ballot, voters should now include the last 4 digits of their Utah Driver’s License (UDL) or state ID, OR the last 4 digits of their Social Security Number (SSN). Voters who do not have these identification types may still sign their ballot and have it counted after their signature is verified.

After 2029

What are the changes after 2029?

Signature verification will no longer be an option for mail-in ballots. To vote by mail, voters will need to include the last 4 digits of their UDL or state ID. If a voter does not have either of these ID types, they may use the last four digits of their SSN, or include along with their mail ballot a photocopy of their currently valid ID card issued by another state or a branch, department, or agency of the United States; a currently valid Utah permit to carry a concealed weapon; a currently valid United States passport; a currently valid United States military identification card; or a currently valid tribal identification card, Bureau of Indian Affairs card, or tribal treaty card. If a voter does not have any of these forms of identification, then they must vote in person at a polling place.

Additionally, voters will need to opt into the VBM system once every 8 years. Active, registered voters will need to opt into the VBM system by submitting a request online through vote.utah.gov, or by requesting a mail ballot when they register to vote, apply for or renew a Utah state driver’s license or state ID card, or vote at a polling place. Once the voter has opted into vote by mail, that request will be valid for 8 years unless the voter requests to stop receiving mail ballots. After 8 years, the voter will need to opt in again.

About 96%of Utahns used the VBM system in recent elections.

About 2,000Utahns had their mail-in ballots processed within the two-week grace period in 2024.

30%increase in voter turnout since 2004.

This regulation burdens voters and ignores the very purpose of the VBM system, which was designed to make voting convenient and accessible. This provision overlooks the fact that not every individual has internet access to submit a request online or vehicle access to request a ballot at one of the limited, in-person locations. VBM in Utah has been convenient and easy, leading to an increase in voter turnout by 30% since 2004.