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Hello John,
It’s Nat, your Democracy Policy Associate at Stewardship Utah. The 2025 legislative session has not even started, and we are already seeing clear signs that your legislators intend to gut vote-by-mail during the next two months.
As you may know, Utah is a national leader of vote-by-mail. More than two decades ago, our elected officials started using mail-in ballots as a way of increasing voter participation, especially in rural areas.
Today, we see legislative leadership try to undo all of that effort. In our current system, ballots are sent out in the mail to all active registered voters, and voters can decide whether they want to put their completed ballot in the mail, a drop box, or vote in-person instead. House Speaker Mike Schultz has proposed to overhaul that system by requiring Utahns to return their mail-in ballots in person by Election Day while showing a government-issued ID. Forcing voters to return their ballots in person takes away the ability of voters to choose what works best for them, and rural Utah will be the most affected.
Already rural Utahns lack resources for voting, making vote-by-mail an obvious solution. Rural Utahns will have to drive the farthest distances to polling locations. County clerks, the elected officials who administer elections, in rural areas often have less resources and staffing which could restrict the hours polls are open in the first place, effectively limiting election participation for anyone that lacks a flexible schedule.
Email Your Legislators! [[link removed]]
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Rural voters would have to drive hours to cast their votes under this proposed "hybrid" system.
This change is not a compromise, it is an attack on our right to the ballot that could result in hundreds of thousands less votes. Despite all of the fearmongering and confusion coming from legislative leadership, Utahns have the facts:
* Approximately 96.7% of votes cast in 2024 were on mail-in ballots [[link removed]] .
* About 75% of Utah voters trust mail-in votes are counted accurately [[link removed]] –that’s a higher approval rating than Taylor Swift [[link removed]] !
* The implementation of vote-by-mail in Utah dramatically improved voter turnout rates and reversed declining trends - by around 30% [[link removed]] .
* Utah has more than 20 election security measures [[link removed]] in place at the state and local levels to protect election integrity and ensure that every ballot is counted accurately. We trust the post office with our most sensitive personal and financial information - why not our ballots?
Overall, vote-by-mail is overwhelmingly used and trusted, found to be safe and secure, and has significantly improved access to the ballot. Any attempt by our legislators to weaken or eliminate it would be irresponsible. Last year, over 2,900 Utahns signed our petition to ask legislators to maintain our current vote-by-mail system. Sadly, we need your voice again. Can you take five minutes to send your legislators an email asking them to defend our current method of voting?
Email Your Legislators! [[link removed]]
Onwards,
www.stewardshiputah.org [www.stewardshiputah.org] Nat Williams,
Democracy Policy Associate
[email protected] [[email protected]]
www.stewardshiputah.org [[link removed]]
P.S. Stewardship Utah is hiring! We are seeking a skilled lobbyist for a 6-month contract to advocate for critical environmental and development initiatives. Learn more about the position and apply:
Apply now! [[link removed]]
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Stewardship Utah
68 E 2700 S
South Salt Lake, UT 84115
United States
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