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.
