The Utah Legislature passed HB300 last week, which would make several changes to the state's vote by mail system by 2029.
Another 45-day legislative session is in the books, dominated early by rancor over a bill stripping public unions of bargaining power and concluding with Utah lawmakers revamping the state's election system.
The Legislature’s compromise bill to enhance voter identification for mail-in ballots, HB300, would replace signature verification with a state ID number for voters over the next few years. During his committee presentation,
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox called for a more coordinated approach to the state's tough-on-crime streak as the 2025 legislative session came to a close.
Utah has sent a bill to its Republican governor that would do away with the state’s universal mail-in voting system
Since Utah passed the SB54 signature path to the ballot, more candidates have one the Republican Party nomination with small shares of the vote.
Several changes have been made to an election bill, which is now proposing voters opt-in to vote by mail and provide the last four digits of their ID number when voting.
An independent commission of representatives from media outlets, higher education institutions and former politicians has organized debates between candidates in Utah elections for over a decade. But under a proposal put in front of the Legislature, lawmakers would give themselves authority to oversee debates.
The Republican-controlled Utah Legislature’s flagship election bill to phase out automatic voting by mail and require voters to provide the last four digits of their state identification number with their return envelope has reached the legislative finish line.