A Utah lawmaker wants to make sure voters have a chance to recast their mail-in ballots in the event of common mistakes. Rep. Steve Eliason, R-Sandy, said mail-in ballots can be “spoiled” by a variety of errors, including mismatched signatures or one spouse signing the other’s ballot. “In Salt Lake County, there were 16,683 ballots that were not counted,” said Eliason, the sponsor of HB12. Statewide, tens of thousands of ballots were rejected in November, he said, possibly changing the outcomes in close races. “This bill seeks to make sure that those voters who had their ballots rejected are given an opportunity to, No. 1, be told, ‘You’re ballot was not counted,’ and two, if there’s still time, to ‘come and fix the problem,'” Eliason said.
Following nearly 45 minutes of discussion, HB12 passed unanimously on the House floor.
Under HB12, elections officials would be required to contact the voter of a “spoiled” ballot by phone or email within one business day of the rejection, or within two days by regular mail. Additionally, for ballots rejected on Election Day, voters would have seven days to correct the ballot.
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