20A-1-1003. Signature removal -- Statement required.

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Effective 3/7/2026

(1)A voter who signs a petition may have the voter's signature removed from the petition by submitting to the clerk a statement requesting that the voter's signature be removed.

(i)Subject to Subsection (2)(a)(iii) , the statement described in Subsection

(1)shall include:

(A)the name or description of the petition from which the voter seeks to remove the voter's signature;

(B)the name of the voter;

(C)the resident address at which the voter is registered to vote;

(D)except as otherwise provided in Section 20A-7-106 , the voter's signature; and

(E)the date of the signature described in Subsection (2)(a)(i)(D) .

(ii)To increase the likelihood of the voter's signature being identified and removed, the statement may include the voter's birth date or age.

(iii)Beginning on May 6, 2026, if an individual is paid to collect a statement described in Subsection

(1), the statement shall include, in addition to the information described in Subsection (2)(a)(i) :

(A)the following printed notice, appearing immediately adjacent to the voter's signature: "I understand that by signing this statement, the [name or description of petition] may not appear on the ballot."; and

(B)the following verification to be completed by the individual who collects the statement:

"VERIFICATION OF SIGNATURE REMOVAL STATEMENT GATHERER:

I, _____________________, hereby state, under penalty of perjury, that:

I am at least 18 years old;

The name that appears on this statement was signed by an individual who professed to a voter who signed the [name or description of petition]; and

The individual signed the individual's name on this statement in my presence or, in the case of an individual with a qualifying disability, I have signed this statement on the individual's behalf, at the direction of the individual and in the individual's presence, by entering the initials "AV" as the individual's signature.

_________________________________________________________

(Name)(Date)."

(i)A voter may not submit a statement described in Subsection

(1)by mail using prepaid postage, email, or other electronic means.

(ii)Notwithstanding Subsection (2)(b)(i) , a clerk may accept a statement described in Subsection

(1)submitted by mail using prepaid postage if the statement is postmarked on or before the effective date of this bill.

(c)In order for the signature to be removed, the clerk must receive the statement described in Subsection

(1)no later than the deadline described in the provision of law governing the petition.

(d)A voter may only remove a signature from a petition in accordance with this section and the provision of law governing the petition.

(e)A clerk shall analyze a signature, for purposes of removing a signature from a petition, in accordance with Subsection

(3).

(3)Except to the extent otherwise required under Section 20A-7-106 , the clerk shall use the following procedures to determine whether to remove an individual's signature from a petition after receiving a timely, valid statement requesting removal of the signature:

(a)if the signer's name and address shown on the statement and the petition exactly match a name and address shown on the official register and the individual's signature on the statement is reasonably consistent with the individual's signature on the statewide voter registration database, the clerk shall remove the signature from the petition;

(b)if there is no exact match of an address and a name, the clerk shall remove the signature from the petition if:

(i)the address on the statement and the address provided by the individual with the individual's petition signature match the address of an individual on the official register with a substantially similar name; and

(ii)the individual's signature on the statement is reasonably consistent with the signature on the statewide voter registration database of the individual described in Subsection (3)(b)(i) ; and

(c)if there is no match of an address and a substantially similar name, the clerk shall remove the signature from the petition if:

(i)the birth date or age on the statement and the birth date or age provided by the individual with the individual's petition signature match the birth date or age of an individual on the official register with a substantially similar name; and

(ii)the individual's signature on the statement is reasonably consistent with the signature on the statewide voter registration database of the individual described in Subsection (3)(b)(i) .

(4)If a signature does not qualify for removal under Subsection (3)(a) , (b), or (c), or, if applicable, Section 20A-7-106 , the clerk may not remove the signature from the petition.

Amended by Chapter 27 , 2026 General Session