Utah: Democrats excited about Utah’s same-day voter registration, even if it helps GOP | The Salt Lake Tribune

The Democratic National Party is excited about Utah’s new pilot project on same-day voter registration — even if it does help the opposition party sign up new voters in the GOP-dominated state. The Legislature passed a measure this session to allow counties and municipalities to have same-day registration in the next three years, a move that dovetails with Democratic efforts nationwide to increase access to the polls for Americans. Pratt Wiley, the Democrats’ national director of voter expansion, acknowledges that in deep-red Utah, the program could “absolutely” help Republicans. “Our job is to make sure we’re working so that everyone votes,” Wiley said this week, “not to make sure that Obama voters vote, not to make sure that Democrats vote; it’s to make sure that everyone votes. And so we recognize that this can help Republicans — especially in a state like Utah, it can help Republicans probably in a way that it doesn’t in some swing states.”

Utah: Legislature fails to pass bill to jump ahead of Iowa in presidential contest | Des Moines Register

Utah lawmakers were unsuccessful in their effort to push their state to the front of the presidential selection process. Iowa holds the spotlight every four years as presidential hopefuls pour into the state to audition for the White House, trailed by the national press. No other state votes before the Iowa caucuses. A proposal that would have required Utah to hold the first presidential voting contest in the country, and for voting would take place online, didn’t make the cut last night. Earlier this week, the Utah House overwhelmingly approved HB410 and sent it to the state Senate for further consideration. But records show it never came up for a Senate vote. It got stuck in a logjam of bills that were defeated when the legislature adjourned at midnight, as required by the state constitution.

Utah: A Campaign Inquiry in Utah Is the Watchdogs’ Worst Case | New York Times

It is the nightmare scenario for those who worry that the modern campaign finance system has opened up new frontiers of political corruption: A candidate colludes with wealthy corporate backers and promises to defend their interests if elected. The companies spend heavily to elect the candidate, but hide the money by funneling it through a nonprofit group. And the main purpose of the nonprofit appears to be getting the candidate elected. But according to investigators, exactly such a plan is unfolding in an extraordinary case in Utah, a state with a cozy political establishment, where business holds great sway and there are no limits on campaign donations.

Utah: Parties to hold final caucuses under current system | The Salt Lake Tribune

For perhaps one last time, political party caucuses this week will figure into a long-running debate about whether small extremist groups can use them to control Utah’s ballot, or if big attendance there instead can ensure mainstream choices. Examples of when small groups ruled — such as the tea party dumping former GOP Sen. Bob Bennett four years ago, even though polls showed he likely easily would have won a primary — led to a change in the system that takes effect Jan. 1. Gov. Gary Herbert this month signed into law SB54 as a compromise between parties and the Count My Vote drive. It will allow Utah’s current caucus-and-convention system to continue with reforms, but also allows candidates to bypass it and gain direct access to a primary election if they gather enough signatures. But for one last time under the old system — unless courts overturn SB54 — Democrats hold their caucuses on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Republicans hold theirs on Thursday at 7 p.m. Locations may be found online at utdem.org and utgop.org.

Utah: Lawmakers seek earliest presidential primary, with online voting | Reuters

Utah could jump to the front of the U.S. presidential primary lineup in 2016 and hold its own online election a week before any other state, under a proposal advanced by state lawmakers this week to win more sway for the conservative state. For decades, the Iowa caucus has been the first event in which presidential hopefuls can secure convention delegates, followed closely by a vote in New Hampshire, which has held the nation’s first full primary election since 1920. “Utah is roughly the same size as Iowa and roughly twice the size of New Hampshire, and yet our influence in the presidential primaries process is minimal if it all,” bill sponsor Representative Jon Cox, a Republican, said during a House debate of the bill on Monday. “It’s time to change that. We’ve created a system that is blatantly discriminatory, that creates second-class states,” he said.

Utah: State could have first-in-nation presidential primary | The Salt Lake Tribune

Utah could offer the nation’s first presidential primary in 2016. The House voted 58-14 Monday to pass HB410, sending it to the Senate. The bill would allow Utah to hold a presidential primary a week before any other state — conducted solely by online voting. However, the early date could bring punishment from national political parties, which have rules to protect New Hampshire as the country’s first primary and Iowa as the first caucus.

Utah: Bill Creating Election-day Voter Registration Pilot Advances | City Weekly

In 2013, Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck came close to passing a bill that would require county and city clerks to allow voters to register and vote on election day. The bill was killed over a concerns about costs and possible fraud issues, but now Chavez-Houck has resurrected the bill as a pilot program that cities and counties would voluntarily opt into. With a pilot program, municipal and county clerks would be able to accept registration and then offer a provisional ballot on election day to a voter that would be counted after the vote was verified. As a pilot program participating counties would closely monitor the same-day votes and report back their findings to the Legislature to see if there are any concerns or abuse of the process.

Utah: Deal on Count My Vote gets OK | The Salt Lake Tribune

Despite grumbling and constitutional doubts, the Utah Legislature sent a deal to Gov. Gary Herbert that will overhaul the process for choosing candidates for office and bring to an end Count My Vote’s ballot initiative. “I don’t argue that this policy will be better than the caucus-convention process,” said Rep. Dan McCay, R-Riverton. “The vote today is not whether you like one [nominating system] over the other. … Your vote today is ‘do I preserve a history at the same time I grab the future?’ That is this bill.” While the bill, SB54s2, lets parties keep their existing caucus-and-convention system for nominating candidates, it also allows aspiring officeholders who collect enough petition signatures to go straight to the primary ballot. It also imposes certain requirements on state parties, and James Evans, chairman of the Utah Republican Party, has said the party has the right to nominate its candidates as it sees fit. Previously, he said an attorney the party hired recommended they not participate in the negotiations because it could weaken a potential lawsuit.

Utah: New Hampshire to Utah: The first-in-the-nation primary is ours, back off | The Salt Lake Tribune

New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner is urging Utah lawmakers to reject a bill that would try to put the Beehive State ahead of Iowa or New Hampshire in the presidential primary race, arguing that New Hampshire’s 100-year-old contest is the best test of candidates. A House committee this week advanced HB410, providing that if Utah wanted to fund an early presidential primary, it must do so a week before any similar balloting. It’s a clear shot at New Hampshire and Iowa, both of which grab the attention of the national news media and major candidates for months. Rep. Jon Cox, R-Ephraim, says it’s unfair for those two states to always get the spotlight and Utah could actually play a role in electing the next president. But Gardner, who by law must place the New Hampshire primary a week before any similar contest, says his state’s contest allows all candidates to compete on the same level, working town markets and holding house parties instead of campaigning through major television ads and fly-in-fly-out stump speeches.

Utah: House OKs bill to put Utah primary first, online | Daily Herald

A House committee has given approval to legislation that would seek to put Utah first in line to hold a presidential primary election and also calls for it to be done online. The House Political Subdivisions Committee approved the bill, H.B. 410, on Tuesday night that would bump off Iowa and New Hampshire as the presidential wine tasters in the nation and move the Beehive state to the prominent spot of having a significant role in presidential primary politics, first. “I believe that our current presidential nominating process is blatantly discriminatory,” said Rep. Jon Cox, R-Ephraim, the sponsor of the legislation. “I believe it creates second class states.” Cox’s bill would only create a mechanism for the primary to be held. Under the bill the Legislature would have the option to decide, at a later date, if it wants go first in the election season but does call for the elections to be held online, a move that cuts the cost of holding the election in half to an estimated $1.6 million.

Utah: State maintains caucus system, adds direct primary in compromise | KSL

The Utah House and Senate believe they have come up with a “win-win solution” to expand access to Utah’s primary elections. Amendments to Senate Bill 54 were officially announced in a press conference Sunday at the Utah State Capitol, with members of the Utah Legislature and the leadership behind the Count My Vote ballot initiative attending. In what was called “historic legislation,” by Count My Vote executive chairman Rick McKeown, the bill seeks to expand options to voters while retaining Utah’s caucus-convention system. The bill creates a direct primary election, opening the door for candidates to use caucus-conventions or signature gathering as a means of getting on the ballot and allowing an estimated 665,000 unaffiliated voters to participate in primary elections.

Utah: Deal between Utah legislators, Count My Vote formally announced | FOX13Now.com

Leaders in the Utah Legislature and of the Count My Vote Initiative held a press conference Sunday at the State Capitol to officially announce that a deal has been made that will change the way Utahns elect their leaders. Utah legislators from both sides of the aisle, as well as officials with the Count My Vote initiative, are calling this a great compromise, and that’s because the deal includes both the caucus convention system as well as a direct primary election. But of course, not everyone saw it that way. “We are confident that the results will be a win for voter turnout and citizen engagement,” said Wayne Niederhauser, a Republican who is President of the Utah Senate. In a press release issued Saturday by CMV officials and Utah legislators officials stated: “The new legislation will preserve Utah’s caucus-convention system and provide a direct primary alternative based on gathering a threshold of voter signatures.”

Utah: House approves bill to change access to Utah voter rolls | Daily Herald

In the future, you may have the option to make certain your voter information is not accessible by the general public. Utah’s House of Representatives approved legislation on Tuesday, on a vote of 71-2, that will allow the public to request that their voter information be kept private. The bill, H.B. 302, also calls for birth dates to be unavailable when someone purchases Utah’s voter rolls, but the records would still list a voter’s age. “I believe strongly an individual should not have to trade their constitutional right to vote in order to ensure their privacy,” said Rep. Becky Edwards, R-North Salt Lake. Edwards explained that the legislation comes as a direct result to a website that surfaced earlier this year that contains the whole Utah voter roll on it.

Utah: Legislature moves to bottle up some Utah voter data

Stung by the release of detailed voter information on 1.5 million Utahns online in January, Utah lawmakers are taking action to protect voter information. A bill making two changes in the voter information process passed the House by a 71-2 vote on Tuesday. The bill, HB 302, would keep voter birth date information classified and would also allow voters to opt into a program to protect all of their information, going forward. The bill now advances to the Senate for further consideration. Sponsored by Rep. Becky Edwards, the bill is one of two voter information related items being considered by the Legislature this session. It comes weeks after a New Hampshire man bought a voter registration list from the state and made that personal information available online for free. The information includes names, birth dates, phone numbers and the voting activity of everyone in specific households during recent elections.

Utah: House panel amends, passes bill to limit access to Utah voter data | Deseret News

State lawmakers are trying to figure out how to prevent Utah voters’ information from being used for personal gain after a New Hampshire man bought it from the state and posted it online. The Senate last week unanimously passed SB36 to limit access to the state’s voter registration rolls and prohibit putting it on the Internet. It includes exceptions for political, scholarly, journalistic and governmental purposes. But a House committee Monday expanded those exceptions to include banks, hospitals and insurance companies. It now goes the full House for consideration.

Utah: Romney backs effort to end nominating conventions in Utah | Washington Post

Former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is lending his support to an initiative that would change the way Utah political parties choose their candidates. In an e-mail to former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt (R), Romney said he supports Count My Vote, an initiative that would require party nominees to be chosen in primaries rather than through a convention system. “I want to tell you that Ann and I are supporters. Since the election, I’ve been pushing hard for states to move to direct primaries,” Romney wrote in an e-mail first reported by the Salt Lake Tribune. “Caucus/convention systems exclude so many people: they rarely produce a result that reflects how rank-and-file Republicans feel. I think that’s true for Democrats, too.” Romney said the Count My Vote initiative could “count on us to help financially.”

Utah: Bill advances to prevent posting voter rolls online | The Salt Lake Tribune

The Senate passed a bill Tuesday aiming to prevent the online posting of personal information from Utah’s voter-registration rolls, but it still would allow access by political parties, journalists and researchers. Meanwhile, a tougher bill — which could allow voters to check a box to entirely cut off public access to their data on the rolls such as birth date, address, phone number and party affiliation — has been advancing in the House. The Senate voted 26-0 on Tuesday to pass SB36, the less restrictive bill by Sen. Karen Mayne, D-West Valley City, and sent it to the House.

Utah: Proposed constitutional amendment would counter Count My Vote initiative | Deseret News

A proposed constitutional amendment prohibiting infringement on a political party’s right to nominate candidates for public office could be on the November election ballot. Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, is sponsoring the measure to counter the Count My Vote initiative to replace Utah’s unique caucus and convention system with direct primaries, which might also be on the ballot this fall. Also, the Senate scheduled a floor debate on SB54 — legislation that would allow parties to avoid direct primaries — for 11 a.m. Thursday. Jenkins sees his resolution, SJR15, as complementary to the bill but also an attempt to thwart the Count My Vote effort. The group must gather more than 100,000 signatures to put its measure before voters in November.

Utah: Bill to Head Off ‘Count My Vote’ Moves Out of Committee | Utah Policy

Sen. Curt Bramble calls the “Count My Vote” initiative a “gun to the head” of Utah’s political parties. If the CMV initiative gets on the ballot and passes in November, it would do away with the state’s caucus and convention system for nominating candidates in favor of a direct primary. Bramble says CMV backers and Utah’s political parties were unable to find a middle ground, so that’s why he’s sponsoring SB 54, which is a compromise between the two positions – and would essentially make the “Count My Vote” initiative a moot point. “The best kind of political compromise is where both sides can claim victory,” Bramble told a packed Senate committee hearing room on Friday morning. “I crafted this bill so that both sides don’t get what they want. Under the legislation, ‘Count My Vote’ gets what they were asking for from the parties, while the parties get to keep the caucus system if they meet certain criteria.”

Utah: GOP Adds Same-Day Ballots to Caucus System | Utah Policy

Last month, the big news coming out of Utah Republican Party State Central Committee meeting was the race to replace former Attorney General John Swallow. But, the group also changed a key rule in its caucus system for nominating candidates. The SCC voted to allow a caucus attendee to bring same-day ballots to a caucus meeting on behalf of three others. Utah Republican Party Secretary Michelle Mumford believes the “Count My Vote” citizen’s initiative prompted the change. “I think that’s great,” she said. “Voluntary reforms from within always have the greater, longer-lasting, positive effect. I welcome the catalyst that CMV has become.” Right now, the caucus system allows candidates at party conventions with enough votes from delegates chosen at those caucus meetings to qualify for the general ballot. CMV would trash that system by allowing any candidate who gets signatures from 2 percent of his party’s registered voters in his district, or office, to get on the ballot.

Utah: Democrats Call Process to Appoint New Attorney General Unconstitutional | KUTV

Just days after Utah Attorney General John Swallow announced his retirement the Utah Democratic Party is taking issue with the governor’s office. The Democrats are calling the process of finding a new attorney general unconstitutional. As it stands right now, the governor will appoint a new attorney general once Swallow is done next week, but the democrats instead want Swallow’s election thrown out and are calling for a special election.  Can an elected official resign from an office that they never legally held?  That is the question that the Utah state Democratic Party takes issue with in the case of Utah Attorney General John Swallow.

Utah: Democrats plan to sue for a special election | FOX13

Utah will have a new Attorney General by next month. Gov. Gary Herbert said he has the power to hand pick John Swallow’s successor, but the minority party in the state says not so fast. Senator Jim Dabakis, D- District 2, is the chair of the State Democratic Party, and he said Democrats plan on suing. They want last year’s election to be invalidated and think a state judge will ultimately side with them. “We will be going to court,” Dabakis said. He is taking the fight to the top, a judge. He believes the Lt. Governor’s report proves the election is invalid.

Utah: Town forgets to hold election — again | The Salt Lake Tribune

In the Wasatch County town of Wallsburg, the city employee responsible for oversight of elections brought new meaning to the job description by overlooking the election altogether. The new recorder in the town of about 275 just east of Deer Creek Reservoir forgot to announce the opening of the filing period or arrange to hold an election Nov. 5, when voters across the state cast their ballots in municipal elections. By the time the oversight was caught shortly before Election Day, it was too late to field candidates and hold the balloting on the fly. “Wallsburg never advertised or prepared for an election this year, so no one signed up,” said Wasatch County Clerk Brent Titcomb. “They’re going to have to appoint the current mayor and council for two more years and they’ll advertise and have people elected [in 2015].”

Utah: Voter Turnout Higher in Vote-By-Mail Test Cities | KUTV.com

Two cities in Salt Lake County that agreed to be test cases for voting by mail recorded higher turnout in their municipal elections than most other cities across the state. “I’d like to think that we had great voter turnout because we had great candidates and they wanted to vote for the mayor. I would like to think that, but I know better,” said reelected Cottonwood Heights Mayor Kelvyn Cullimore, Jr. “We had the opportunity to be one of the test cases for voting by mail, and we thought that was a great opportunity to engage our citizens more than is typical in a municipal election.” Cullimore and city council members approved the vote-by-mail election this year, after the county asked them if they were interested. The turnout in Cottonwood Heights was about double what previous municipal election in the city have yielded, according to Cullimore. “We had 40 percent voter turnout, and that was incredible for a municipal election,” Cullimore said. The other test case in Salt Lake County, West Jordan, saw 30 percent turnout, as voters weighed in on a nearly $500 million Jordan School District Bond.

Utah: Battle over caucus and convention system heats up | Deseret News

Republicans have taken “a great first step” toward improving Utah’s unique system for selecting party nominees by approving absentee ballots and other changes, state GOP Chairman James Evans said Monday. The changes were made by the Utah Republican Party Central Committee on Saturday, the same day the Count My Vote initiative petition drive to replace the nominating system with a direct primary election began collecting signatures. Evans described the initiative as the “agitation” that prompted action. “These were changes that were certainly needed,” he said. “I think the fact that Count My Vote is pushing to eliminate the caucus system, most certainly the party has taken note.”

Utah: GOP approves some changes to caucus system | The Spectrum

Utah’s Republican Party approved some changes to the state’s system for electing candidates in an effort to stave off an initiative that seeks to replace it. GOP leaders took the action at a special meeting in Fillmore on Saturday, the same day a petition drive began to replace the current caucus and convention nominating system with direct primaries. Republican leaders said the changes will make it easier for more people to participate in neighborhood caucuses to ensure results represent the will of the people. Among other things, they decided to allow absentee voting for people unable to attend evening caucuses and early online registration to speed up the check-in process.

Utah: Democrats vote to keep caucus-convention system | The Salt Lake Tribune

Escaping mostly unscathed from some intraparty sparring, Utah Democrats elected to keep their caucus/convention system intact Saturday, arguing that a switch to an open primary would be too costly and, therefore, prohibitive to common-folk candidates. Following two hours of sharp debate during their state party organizing convention in downtown Ogden, Democratic delegates voted 53.3 percent to 46.6 percent to keep the status quo. But party insiders pledged to spend the next year exploring improvements — including a possible hybrid system that could set a lower vote threshold at convention to allow candidates onto a primary ballot. “There is nothing built in and I anticipate tremendous dialogue now,” Democratic Chairman Jim Dabakis said after the vote. “My sense is people want more primaries. This preserves that option.”

Utah: GOP weighs next step in election reforms | Daily Herald

Utah Republicans pushing reforms in their state caucus and convention system are weighing their next move after the GOP rejected efforts that would force more candidates into primaries. Former Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt is among the prominent Republicans in the group Count My Vote, which wants to increase the number of votes required in a nominating convention before a candidate can forgo a primary. GOP delegates rejected proposals on Saturday to raise the current 60 percent threshold to either 66.6 percent or 70 percent.

Utah: Clerks kill Election Day voter registration | The Salt Lake Tribune

A bill to allow Election Day voter registration died Thursday — ironically killed by election officials who worried that it could work too well, and cause them too much work, in a state that has among the worst voter turnout in the nation. HB91 died on a 10-18 vote in the Senate, after earlier passing the House 58-14. Most of the opposition cited was from county clerks who said it could create more work than they could now handle between when votes are cast and when counts must be finalized. Sen. Scott Jenkins, R-Plain City, Senate sponsor of the bill, tried to overcome that by amending the bill to delay enactment for two years to give clerks time to prepare. Another amendment was added to sunset the bill after another two years — unless lawmakers decided it worked well enough to extend.

Utah: Bill would make same-day registration and vote possible | Standard-Examiner

A bill making it possible to register and vote in Utah on the day of an election has been forwarded to the House for further review. HB 91 changes the way provisional ballots would be handled for those who have never before registered to vote in Utah and opens the door for voters to register and vote on Election Day. Bill sponsor Rep. Rebecca Chavez-Houck, D-Salt Lake City, said these provisional ballots would only be counted once the voters were determined to be eligible. Utah has one of the lowest percentages of voter turnouts in the U.S., the representative says.\ “What I am proposing is that we move the line and allow a broader spectrum of individuals to vote,” Chavez-Houck said. Under existing state law, a resident who has not registered to vote is given a provisional ballot, if they show up at the polls on Election Day. The provisional ballot serves as a registration mechanism, but is not counted among final election results.