Voters are likely to see improvements in the current system of challenging voter eligibility with SB53 Voter challenge Revisions, now awaiting the Governor’s signature.
The ACLU of Utah has posted the status of the bill on its website :
SB 53 “Voter Challenge Revisions,” is a culmination of several years of work by Utah County Clerks, the ACLU of Utah and other voting rights advocates. This effort began after the 2007 election when the current election laws were misused resulting in a large number of Ogden voters being wrongfully accused of being ineligible to vote. The bill passed the Utah Legislature unanimously, and is before Governor Herbert for signature. The ACLU of Utah sent the Governor a letter encouraging him to sign SB 53.
In its letter to Governor Herbert on this bill, the ACLU of Utah highlights the flaws in the current system:
Under existing Utah law, an individual can challenge a voter’s eligibility without the voter knowing about that challenge – until the hopeful voter arrives at their polling place on Election Day. The voter then has to complete a provisional ballot rather than cast a regular ballot, as unchallenged voters are able to do; provisional ballots are much more likely to be thrown out based on technicalities.
The integrity of Utah’s Elections will be strengthened with this bill and, as the ALCU highlights in its letter to the Governor, Election Day can be focused on the actual election and not on voter issues as has been seen under current law.
See previous post on Electoral Reform, including information about the Ogden voter challenges, here.
(cross-posted to Utah Legislature Watch)
Deanna Dee-Dee Taylor 