Since vote-by-mail was introduced, support for our system in Utah has been bipartisan and popular, including amongst our staff! |
Utah’s vote-by-mail program began in 2004, and by 2019, every county had signed on to make vote-by-mail the default voting method for their registered voters. During the 2022 general election, 96% of Utah voters cast a mail-in ballot. The current vote-by-mail system deployed in Utah contains more than 20 security measures to ensure accuracy and transparency—from triple checks for signature verification to barcode readers to prevent duplicate votes.
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Beginning in 2020, some Utah policymakers began expressing concerns about vote-by-mail. Introduced this year, a bill named H.B. 300 arose from consistent yet unfounded accusations of voter fraud and security lapses in mail-in voting. While you may have heard of HB 300 throughout the legislative session, the bill was substituted this week and now creates completely different problems for the vote-by-mail system we love and trust.
The new H.B. 300 would: |
- End universal vote-by-mail by requiring voters to request their mail-in ballot. Currently, every active registered voter is mailed a ballot - a policy that has vastly improved voter turnout over the last two decades by 30%. Changing this policy will take us back decades and will reduce voter turnout as a result.
- Require you to provide the last four digits of your state ID on your ballot. Some voters, including the elderly, disabled, tribal communities, and students, are less likely to have Utah driver's licenses and will not be able to vote-by-mail as a result.
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Create strict photo ID requirements to register to vote. Currently, several documents are accepted to register to vote, including a Utah concealed carry permit, Tribal ID card, or two forms of ID that together can prove ID and residence. With HB 300, only certain forms of ID with photos will be accepted.
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Require mail-in ballots to be received by the county clerks by the time polls close on Election Day. Today, so long as your ballot is postmarked by the day before Election Day, even if it arrives after polls close, it will be counted as a timely cast ballot. With the change in HB 300, some ballots may be thrown out for reasons outside of voter’s control, like postal delays.
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This bill complicates the system, confuses voters, makes it more difficult to vote, and will result in a lower voter turnout. |
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Stewardship Utah has joined with a coalition of organizations rallying Utahns to support vote-by-mail in any way they can. But we need your help! Please support Stewardship Utah as we fight for our checks and balances, the rights of Utahns, and our vote-by-mail system. We at Stewardship Utah are at the capitol daily to fight for vote-by-mail, but we need your support to show up each and every day for our right to vote-by-mail!
Vote-by-mail stands as an example of what Utah can achieve when the legislature acts in our best interests, and we need your support to ensure it not only survives this session but thrives for all future voters. Stand with Stewardship Utah, support our work, and bolster our right to self-govern. Onwards, |
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Stewardship Utah
68 E 2700 S
South Salt Lake, UT 84115
United States
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