20A-16 - Uniform Military and Overseas Voters Act
Title 20A > 20A-16
Sections (20)
General Provisions
20A-16-102 - Definitions.
As used in this chapter: 20A-16-102(1) “Covered voter” means an individual who:
satisfies Utah’s voter eligibility requirements that do not relate to residency; is not registered to vote in a state other than Utah; is absent from the United States on the day of the election; and is a resident of Utah under Section 20A-2-105, but is absent from the United States on election day because the individual:
is a uniformed service voter; or temporarily resides outside the United States; is a foreign United States citizen who:
before establishing a principal place of residence outside the United States, established a principal place of residence in Utah; and did not, after leaving Utah, register to vote in a state other than Utah or establish a principal place of residence in a state other than Utah; or is a foreign United States citizen:
who has never registered to vote in a state other than Utah; who has never established a principal place of residence in the United States; and whose parent, legal guardian, spouse, or domestic partner established the parent’s, legal guardian’s, spouse’s, or domestic partner’s most recent United States principal place of residence in Utah. 20A-16-102(2) “Dependent” means an individual recognized as a dependent by a uniformed service. 20A-16-102(3) “Federal postcard application” means the application prescribed under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, 52 U.S.C. Sec. 20301(b)(2). 20A-16-102(4) “Federal write-in absentee ballot” means the ballot described in the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, 52 U.S.C. Sec. 20303(a)(1). 20A-16-102(5) “Foreign United States citizen” means a citizen of the United States whose principal place of residence is outside the United States. 20A-16-102(6) “Military-overseas ballot” means:
a federal write-in absentee ballot; a ballot specifically prepared or distributed for use by a covered voter in accordance with this chapter; or a ballot cast by a covered voter in accordance with this chapter. 20A-16-102(7) “Overseas voter” means a United States citizen who, on the day of the applicable election, is:
voting age; and absent from the United States. 20A-16-102(8) “State” means a state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, or American Samoa. 20A-16-102(9) “Uniformed service” means:
active and reserve components of the armed forces as defined in Section 68-3-12.5; the Merchant Marine, the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, or the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States; or the National Guard. 20A-16-102(10) “Uniformed-service voter” means an individual who is qualified to vote and is:
a member of the active or reserve components of the armed forces who is on active duty; a member of the Merchant Marine, the commissioned corps of the Public Health Service, or the commissioned corps of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the United States; a member on activated status of the National Guard; or a spouse or dependent of a member referred to in Subsections (10)(a) through (c). 20A-16-102(11) “United States,” when used in the territorial sense, means the several states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.
20A-16-103 - Application to elections — Voting by foreign United States citizen.
20A-16-103(1) The voting procedures in this chapter apply to an election authorized by this title. 20A-16-103(2) A covered voter who is a foreign United States citizen may only vote in a federal election and may only vote for candidates for federal office. 20A-16-103(3) A covered voter described in Subsection 20A-16-102(1)(d)(ii) shall vote in the congressional election for the district where the covered voter established the covered voter’s most recent principal place of residence in Utah. 20A-16-103(4) A covered voter described in Subsection 20A-16-102(1)(d)(iii) shall vote in the congressional election for the district where the covered voter’s parent, legal guardian, spouse, or domestic partner established the parent’s, legal guardian’s, spouse’s, or domestic partner’s most recent United States principal place of residence in Utah.
Administration of Military and Overseas Voting
20A-16-201 - Duties of lieutenant governor.
The lieutenant governor shall: 20A-16-201(1) implement this chapter and the state’s responsibilities under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, 52 U.S.C. 20301 et seq.; 20A-16-201(2) make available to covered voters information regarding voter registration procedures for covered voters and procedures for casting military-overseas ballots; 20A-16-201(3) establish an electronic transmission system through which a covered voter may apply for and receive voter registration materials, military-overseas ballots, and other information under this chapter; 20A-16-201(4) develop standardized absentee-voting materials, including privacy and transmission envelopes and electronic equivalents of the envelopes, authentication materials, and voting instructions, to be used with the military-overseas ballot of a voter authorized to vote in any jurisdiction in the state; and to the extent reasonably possible, coordinate with other states on the development required by Subsection (4)(a); and 20A-16-201(5) prescribe the form and content of a declaration:
for use by a covered voter to swear or affirm specific representations pertaining to the voter’s identity, eligibility to vote, status as a covered voter, and timely and proper completion of an overseas-military ballot; that is based on the declaration prescribed to accompany a federal write-in absentee ballot, as modified to be consistent with this chapter; and that is a prominent part of all balloting materials for which the declaration is required, including an indication of the date of execution of the declaration.
20A-16-202 - Report on ballots.
20A-16-202(1) No later than 60 calendar days after each regular general election date, each county clerk shall submit a report to the lieutenant governor indicating:the number of ballots sent to covered voters; andthe number of ballots returned by covered voters that were counted. 20A-16-202(2) No later than 90 calendar days after each regular general election date, the lieutenant governor shall submit a statewide report to the Election Assistance Commission that includes the information required by Subsection (1).
Voter Registration
20A-16-301 - Overseas voter’s registration address.
Subject to Section 20A-16-103 , in registering to vote, an overseas voter who is eligible to vote in the state shall: 20A-16-301(1) use and be assigned to the voting precinct of the address of the last place of residence of the voter in the state; or 20A-16-301(2) if the address described in Subsection (1) is no longer a recognized residential address, be assigned an address, for voting purposes, in the applicable voting precinct.
20A-16-302 - Methods of registering to vote.
20A-16-302(1) To apply to register to vote, in addition to any other approved method, a covered voter may use a federal postcard application or the application’s electronic equivalent. 20A-16-302(2) A covered voter may use the declaration accompanying a federal write-in absentee ballot to apply to register to vote simultaneously with the submission of the federal write-in absentee ballot, if the declaration is received before the day of the election. If the declaration is received on or after the day of the election, the declaration shall be treated as an application to register to vote for subsequent elections. 20A-16-302(3) The lieutenant governor shall ensure that the electronic transmission system described in Subsection 20A-16-201(3) is capable of accepting both a federal postcard application and any other approved electronic registration application sent to the appropriate election official. The voter may use the electronic transmission system or any other approved method to register to vote.
Voting and Ballots
20A-16-401 - Methods of applying for military-overseas ballots.
20A-16-401(1) A covered voter who is registered to vote in the state may apply for a military-overseas ballot:
via the federal postcard application; via the federal postcard application’s electronic equivalent; or by otherwise making a request in writing. 20A-16-401(2) A covered voter who is not registered to vote in this state may use a federal postcard application or the federal postcard application’s electronic equivalent to apply simultaneously to register to vote under Section 20A-16-302 and for a military-overseas ballot. 20A-16-401(3) The lieutenant governor shall ensure that the electronic transmission system described in Subsection 20A-16-201(3) is capable of accepting the submission of both a federal postcard application and any other approved electronic military-overseas ballot application sent to the appropriate election official. The voter may use the electronic transmission system or any other approved method to apply for a military-overseas ballot. 20A-16-401(4) A covered voter may use the declaration accompanying a federal write-in absentee ballot as an application for a military-overseas ballot simultaneously with the submission of the federal write-in absentee ballot, if the declaration is received by the appropriate election official before the day of the election. 20A-16-401(5) To receive the benefits of this chapter, a covered voter shall inform the appropriate election official that the voter is a covered voter by:
the use of a federal postcard application or federal write-in absentee ballot; the use of an overseas address on an approved voter registration application or ballot application; or the inclusion on an approved voter registration application or ballot application of other information sufficient to identify the voter as a covered voter. 20A-16-401(6) This chapter does not preclude a covered voter from voting via a manual ballot by mail.
20A-16-402 - Timeliness and scope of application for military-overseas ballot.
20A-16-402(1) An application for a military-overseas ballot is timely if received before the day of the election. 20A-16-402(2) An application for a military-overseas ballot for a regular primary election or municipal primary election, whether or not timely, is effective as an application for a military-overseas ballot for the regular general election or municipal general election.
20A-16-403 - Transmission of unvoted ballots.
20A-16-403(1) For an election for which the state has not received a waiver pursuant to the Military and Overseas Voter Empowerment Act, 52 U.S.C. Sec. 20302(g)(2), not later than 45 calendar days before the day of the election or, notwithstanding Section 20A-1-104, if the 45th calendar day before the day of the election is a weekend or holiday, not later than the business day preceding the 45th calendar day before the day of the election, the election official in each jurisdiction charged with distributing a ballot and balloting materials shall transmit a ballot and balloting materials to all covered voters who by that date submit a valid military-overseas ballot application. 20A-16-403(2) A covered voter who requests that a ballot and balloting materials be sent to the voter by electronic transmission may choose:facsimile transmission;email delivery; orif offered by the voter’s jurisdiction, Internet delivery.The election official in each jurisdiction charged with distributing a ballot and balloting materials shall transmit the ballot and balloting materials to the voter using the means of transmission chosen by the voter. 20A-16-403(3) If a ballot application from a covered voter arrives after the jurisdiction begins transmitting ballots and balloting materials to voters, the official charged with distributing a ballot and balloting materials shall transmit the ballot and balloting materials to the voter no later than two business days after the day on which the application arrives.
20A-16-404 - Timely casting of ballot.
Except as provided by Section 20A-1-308 , to be valid, a military-overseas ballot shall be: 20A-16-404(1) received by the appropriate election officer not later than the close of the polls; or 20A-16-404(2) submitted for mailing, electronic transmission, or other authorized means of delivery not later than 12:01 a.m., at the place where the voter completes the ballot, on the date of the election.
20A-16-405 - Federal write-in absentee ballot.
A covered voter may use a federal write-in absentee ballot to vote for all applicable offices and ballot propositions in an election.
20A-16-408 - Receipt of voted ballot.
20A-16-408(1) Except as provided by Section 20A-1-308, a valid military-overseas ballot cast in accordance with Section 20A-16-404 shall be counted if the military-overseas ballot is delivered by the end of business on the business day before the latest deadline for completing the canvass to the address that the appropriate state or local election office has specified. 20A-16-408(2) If, at the time of completing a military-overseas ballot and balloting materials, the voter has declared under penalty of perjury as provided in Title 76, Chapter 8, Part 5, Falsification in Official Matters, that the ballot was timely submitted, the ballot may not be rejected on the basis that it has a late postmark, an unreadable postmark, or no postmark.
20A-16-409 - Declaration.
A military-overseas ballot shall include or be accompanied by: 20A-16-409(1) a declaration signed by a covered voter that a material misstatement of fact in completing the ballot may be grounds for a conviction of perjury under the laws of the United States or Title 76, Chapter 8, Part 5, Falsification in Official Matters; and 20A-16-409(2) the following statement if the military-overseas ballot is electronically transmitted: “I understand that by electronically transmitting my voted ballot I am voluntarily waiving my right to a secret ballot. Signature of voter ________________ Date _______“.
20A-16-410 - Confirmation of receipt of application and voted ballot.
The lieutenant governor, in coordination with an election officer, shall implement an electronic free-access system by which a covered voter may determine by telephone, electronic mail, or Internet: 20A-16-410(1) whether the voter’s federal postcard application or other registration or military-overseas ballot application has been received and accepted; 20A-16-410(2) whether the voter’s military-overseas ballot has been received; and 20A-16-410(3) the current status of the ballot.
Miscellaneous
20A-16-501 - Use of voter’s email address.
20A-16-501(1) An election officer shall request an email address from each covered voter who registers to vote. 20A-16-501(2) An email address provided by a covered voter:
is a private record under Section 63G-2-302; and may be used only for official communication with the covered voter about the voting process, including transmitting military-overseas ballots and election materials if the voter has requested electronic transmission, verifying the voter’s mailing address and physical location, and informing the voter of the status of the voter’s ballot in accordance with Section 20A-3a-401.5. 20A-16-501(3) The request for an email address shall:
describe the purposes for which the email address may be used; include a statement that any other use or disclosure of the email address is prohibited; and describe how a voter may sign up to receive ballot status notifications via the ballot tracking system described in Section 20A-3a-401.5. 20A-16-501(4) A covered voter who provides an email address may request that the covered voter’s application for a military-overseas ballot be considered a standing request for electronic delivery of a ballot for all elections held through December 31 of the year following the calendar year of the date of the application or another shorter period the covered voter specifies. An election official shall provide a military-overseas ballot to a covered voter who makes a standing request for each election to which the request is applicable. A covered voter who is entitled to receive a military-overseas ballot for a primary election under this Subsection (4) is entitled to receive a military-overseas ballot for the general election.
20A-16-502 - Publication of election notice.
20A-16-502(1) At least 100 calendar days before the day of an election, other than a statewide special election or local special election, and as soon as practicable before a statewide special election or local special election, the election officer shall prepare an election notice for the election officer’s jurisdiction, to be used in conjunction with a federal write-in absentee ballot. 20A-16-502(2) The election notice must contain:a list of all of the ballot propositions and federal, state, and local offices that as of that date the election officer expects to be on the ballot on the date of the election; andspecific instructions for how a covered voter is to indicate on the federal write-in absentee ballot the covered voter’s choice for each office to be filled and for each ballot proposition to be contested. 20A-16-502(3) A covered voter may request a copy of an election notice.The election officer shall send the notice to the covered voter by facsimile, email, or regular mail, as the covered voter requests. 20A-16-502(4) As soon as the ballot is certified, and not later than the date ballots are required to be transmitted to voters under Chapter 3a, Voting, the election officer charged with preparing the election notice under Subsection (1) shall update the notice with the certified candidates for each office and ballot propositions and make the updated notice publicly available. 20A-16-502(5) A political subdivision that maintains a website shall make the election notice prepared under this section and updated versions of the election notice regularly available on the website.
20A-16-503 - Prohibition of nonsubstantive requirements.
20A-16-503(1) If a covered voter’s mistake or omission in the completion of a document under this chapter does not prevent determining whether a covered voter is eligible to vote, the mistake or omission does not invalidate the document. Failure to satisfy a nonsubstantive requirement, including requirements to use paper or envelopes of a specified size or weight, does not invalidate a document submitted under this chapter. In a write-in ballot authorized by this chapter or in a vote for a write-in candidate on a regular ballot, if the intention of the covered voter is discernable under this state’s uniform definition of what constitutes a vote, an abbreviation, misspelling, or other minor variation in the form of the name of a candidate or a political party is a valid vote. 20A-16-503(2) Notarization is not required for the execution of a document under this chapter. An authentication, other than the declaration described in Section 20A-16-409 or the declaration on the federal postcard application and federal write-in absentee ballot, is not required for execution of a document under this chapter. The declaration and any information in the declaration may be compared with information on file to ascertain the validity of the document.
20A-16-504 - Equitable relief.
A court may issue an injunction or grant other equitable relief appropriate to ensure substantial compliance with, or enforce, this chapter on application by: 20A-16-504(1) a covered voter alleging a grievance under this chapter; or 20A-16-504(2) an election officer.
20A-16-505 - Uniformity of application and construction.
In applying and construing this uniform act, consideration shall be given to the need to promote uniformity of the law with respect to its subject matter among states that enact it.
20A-16-506 - Relation to Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act.
This chapter modifies, limits, and supersedes the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 7001 et seq., but does not modify, limit, or supersede Section 101(c) of that act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 7001(c), or authorize electronic delivery of any of the notices described in Section 103(b) of that act, 15 U.S.C. Sec. 7003(b).