Legislature passes controversial reforms to Utah’s mail-in voting system

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — After several substitutes, and debate regarding its measures, a bill seeking to reform Utah’s mail in voting system has passed the Legislature.

Sen. Michael McKell (R-Utah County) took the Senate floor Thursday afternoon to make the case for the bill, saying that the bill has improved much since its original draft.

“We have good elections in Utah, we have high confidence in our election process, we have high confidence in vote by mail,” Mckell began. “But we also have concern of security, and what we’re trying to balance in this bill is how do we enhance security, at the same time making voting easy.”

H.B. 300 — or Amendments to Election Law — passed the Senate 19-10-0 after amendment and was concurred by the House in a largely party line vote of 56-15-4 late Thursday evening. If signed by the Governor, it would require voters to opt in to receive a mail-in ballot, and to write the last 4 digits of their state ID or social security number on the ballot envelope to return it. These provisions would take effect by 2029.

The reforms would also do away with the postmark deadline, which allowed ballots to be counted even after election day as long as they were postmarked a day before election. Instead, the bill mandates that ballots must be received by “election officers on or before 8 p.m. on election day.”

The bill also assigns the Lt. Governor to several actions to “identify potential anomalies” in Utah’s voter rolls. It would also mandate the Lt. Governor to seek an agreement with the federal court to receive notification when someone is disqualified from jury lists due to criminal convictions or non-citizen status.

During debate on the Senate floor, concerns were brought up regarding the system of opting in for mail in ballots and opposition of county clerks to the bill. An emotional Sen. Daniel Thatcher (R-Tooele County) voiced his opposition to the bill, relating it to a pattern of the legislature imposing its will on unpopular measures. Saying that the Legislature expects submission on these issues.

“I have received word this morning from the clerks that they have removed their opposition and moved to neutral, and I wish I took that as a victory, I wish I thought that this was good legislation,” Thatcher said on the floor of the Senate. “Instead of just the realization that this is the best deal they are going to get. I don’t that’s how we should be doing things.”

Thatcher, although saying the bill is now better than when it started, he still has concerns that the bill doesn’t improve security.

“There are so many things in this bill that do not increase security … that do not improve access. Infact, I would argue, that this bill does in fact impair both,” Thatcher argued. He argued that ID numbers would be easier to manipulate than signatures.

Mckell responded indirectly to Thatcher’s comments saying, “I have nothing but appreciation for the clerks work. That idea that we have pressured [the clerks] into a deal, there’s no deal. I think the clerks want the same thing we want, we want elections that are fair, that are fast.”

The bill will now go to the Governor for final approval, ABC4.com has reached out to the Governor to see where he stands on the bill, ABC4.com is still waiting for a response.