Section 313 – Electronic referendum process — Form of referendum petition — Circulation requirements — Signature collection.

Effective 1/1/2023
20A-7-313. Electronic referendum process — Form of referendum petition — Circulation requirements — Signature collection.

• (1) This section applies only to the electronic referendum process.

• (2)
  • (a) The first screen presented on the approved device shall include the following statement:
    “This REFERENDUM PETITION is addressed to the Honorable ____, Lieutenant Governor:
    The citizens of Utah who sign this petition respectfully order that Senate (or House) Bill No.____, entitled (title of act, and, if the petition is against less than the whole act, set forth here the part or parts on which the referendum is sought), passed by the Legislature of the state of Utah during the ____ Session, be referred to the people of Utah for their approval or rejection at a regular general election or a statewide special election.”
  • (b) An individual may not advance to the second screen until the individual clicks a link at the bottom of the first screen stating, “By clicking here, I attest that I have read and understand the information presented on this screen.”

• (3)
  • (a) The second screen presented on the approved device shall include the entire text of the law that is the subject of the referendum petition.
  • (b) An individual may not advance to the third screen until the individual clicks a link at the bottom of the second screen stating, “By clicking here, I attest that I have read and understand the entire text of the law that is the subject of the referendum petition.”

• (4)
  • (a) The third screen presented on the approved device shall include a statement indicating whether persons gathering signatures for the petition may be paid for gathering signatures.
  • (b) An individual may not advance to the fourth screen until the individual clicks a link at the bottom of the first screen stating, “By clicking here, I attest that I have read and understand the information presented on this screen.”

• (5) The fourth screen presented on the approved device shall include the following statement, followed by links where the individual may click “yes” or “no”:
  “I have personally reviewed the entirety of each statement presented on this device;
  I am personally signing this petition;
  I am registered to vote in Utah; and
  All information I enter on this device, including my residence and post office address, is accurate.
  It is a class A misdemeanor for an individual to sign a referendum petition with a name other than the individual’s own name, or to knowingly sign the individual’s name more than once for the same measure, or to sign a referendum petition when the individual knows that the individual is not a registered voter.
  WARNING
  Even if your voter registration record is classified as private, your name, voter identification number, and date of signature in relation to signing this petition will be made public.
  Do you wish to continue and sign this petition?”

• (6)
  • (a) If the individual clicks “no” in response to the question described in Subsection (5), the next screen shall include the following statement, “Thank you for your time. Please return this device to the signature-gatherer.”
  • (b) If the individual clicks “yes” in response to the question described in Subsection (5), the website, or the application that accesses the website, shall take the signature-gatherer and the individual signing the petition through the signature process described in Section 20A-21-201.

Enacted by Chapter 325, 2022 General Session