25 Changes in “Secure the Vote” Act

Change	Comment
Voters must register 30 days before the election.	This gives time for election officials to verify that the person applying for registration to vote is actually a resident.
Voters must produce a Utah-issued photo ID to register to vote, or they can apply for an ID and registration concurrently at the DMV. (Voter registration is not completed until ID is issued).	Voters must enter the election system and cast their ballots with a Utah-issued photo ID that both identifies the individual and establishes their residency.
Absentee voters must provide an affidavit explaining why they cannot vote in their precinct on election day. The election officer must receive the document(s) no later than 15 days before the day of the election.	This initiative is re-orientating Utah’s voting system from voting through the mail to a precinct voting system. We estimate over 90% of the voting will occur at precincts, where the vote count is observed and reported that night.
Drop boxes will no longer be permitted for the mailed ballots that do remain.	As with other facets of this Act, the concern here is needless chain-of-custody issues that might arise with ballots sitting in drop boxes.
Absentee ballots must be returned with a copy of photo identification to an election official by the Friday before the election or postmarked on that date.	The same linkage to photo identification that occurs at the polls must be maintained with the ballots that will still be mailed in. Drop boxes also make the election process vulnerable to chain-of-custody issues.
Absentee ballots returned by voters must be sent to the precincts for processing by election day if they arrive at the election office on that day. The remaining legal absentees will be processed at the election office.	This is a return to the proven system that was used in Utah for decades that decentralizes ballot counting and allows campaigns and citizens to observe the actual counting of the ballots, with results produced on election night in each precinct that are reported publicly.
Voters with certain disabilities may vote via mechanical devices to comply with ADA. Military and overseas voting is unchanged.	It is required by federal law (ADA, HAVA) that those who are severely disabled be able to use special devices to vote, which creates some electronic ballots, as does federally mandated military voting.
Emergency ballots will be made available for those who require unscheduled medical care or have other unforeseen emergencies if they are too late to acquire an absentee ballot and can’t vote in person. The third-party appears before an election officer, signing an affidavit, and bringing an affidavit from the voter also declaring their inability to come to the polls. The third-party must deliver the ballot back to the election office in each county the day before the election.	This is a new category of ballot for those who are (1) placed on short notice in a medical facility or required by their physician to remain at home; or (2) have an unforeseen family, work, or another emergency. A designated person on behalf of the voter goes to the county for the ballot and must return it there the day before the election (to give processing time to election officials and poll workers).
Vote by Mail is prohibited, except under the provisions for absentee, emergency, or military/ overseas voting.	Massive numbers of mail-in ballots create chain of custody issues until they are received to be counted, and then are tabulated in centralized locations where observers see the whirling machines but are not observing the actual counting of the votes.
The Municipal Alternate Voting Methods Pilot Project is repealed, which currently permits local elections conducted by internet voting, voting on your phone, and vote tabulation using ranked choice voting.	Experimenting with voting on the hackable internet or allowing votes for several candidates which requires centralized, electronic tabulation works against the needed reform we propose--- the time-tested neighborhood voting system with paper ballots and observable hand counts. About Ranked Choice voting: many voters like the idea of “more choices.” While it provides more candidates a voter can express some support for, it has tended to create a strategy for candidates to be vaguer to appeal to a broader group for more rankings, rather than building a base around clear positions on the issues.
Early voting is repealed. Voting must occur at the polls on election day, except for absentee, emergency, and federal/overseas voting.	Early voting creates ballot storage issues, and in some cases buyers' remorse among the voters. It also draws more money into the election process as candidates have to currently cover a 21-day period where almost all the ballots are available for voting.
All manual ballots will contain a unique, sequential number in a statewide series and will be printed on the same type of paper throughout the state that will include a watermark to establish authenticity.	This is an inexpensive way to identify every ballot and its legal status.
Each precinct must have at least three “receiving judges” (poll workers) and three “counting judges” who are selected from citizen volunteers to conduct the business of the precinct, separate and distinct from other precinct polling places that may be established within the same facility.	Each precinct in the state is limited to no more than 1250 voters, which is a manageable number to work with.
Each county must organize the election day effort with the need to ensure voters do not have to wait more than 30 minutes to cast their ballot. This includes providing enough personnel and voting booths to accommodate voters.	See above.
The in-person voter must present a valid photo ID, be in the correct precinct, be listed in the poll book, and not be shown to have already voted.	In-person, neighborhood voting with a picture ID that establishes residency will be much safer than the current system, particularly when you add the counting of that vote at the same location, by election night.
Counting judges will count all legal votes cast in, or delivered to the precinct. They will begin during the election day and continue after the polls close on-site until the job is completed.	There is no reason for the public to have to wait for days because a huge number of the votes are not counted on election day.
When the precinct receives 20 ballots, counting will begin there in batches of 20 throughout the election day, with observers present.	Having election judges count during election day ensures results can be reported on election night.
Votes tallied on election day shall remain secret until it is completed, a felony charge for disclosure. Counting judges and one rep from each party allowed in the room during vote counting (or reps. for independent candidates who qualify for the ballot).	This is the system that used to exist in this state. It allows election judges to complete their work and give the public election results a lot sooner than we get them now.
Counting judges in each precinct shall count the legal votes, sign an affidavit attesting to the accuracy of poll book records and the number and validity of the ballots and the tallied results, reporting them to an election officer and the public.	Reporting the precinct's results to the public as well as the county election office ensures an honest, accurate total count.
Voters who insist they are legally registered but are not listed in the precinct poll book (clerical error) will receive a provisional ballot, to be maintained separately from the remaining ballots. Those ballots will only be counted in the precinct on election day if it can be ascertained through the election office that the voter is already registered to vote. The remaining provisional ballots will be forwarded to election officials for adjudication.	This protects legal voters from a clerical error made by the county that might otherwise prevent them from voting.
A provisional ballot shall also be issued to a voter whose credentials are challenged by poll watchers. Provisional ballots will not be issued for any other reason other than those stated above.	As stated, no one will be allowed to vote without ID, vote in the wrong precinct, or vote when they have not been previously registered.
The number of Military/Overseas, Absentee, and provisional ballots that remain unprocessed at the County clerk’s office (after election night will be reported to the public daily. (Military/overseas ballots, and absentee ballots properly postmarked but delayed in the mail, would be legally counted after election day under the initiative, as would ballots coming from the precincts that need to be adjudicated.	Under this system, there will be a small number of ballots.
CANDIDATE-REQUESTED AUDIT. One week from election night, a losing candidate may pay for an audit of up to three precincts within the election’s boundaries. At the candidate’s discretion, the audit will include a recount of the ballots, a forensic examination of the ballots and materials related to them, a re-check of the processing of absentee and the adjudication of provisional ballots, and a canvass in person or by telephone, of up to 10% of voters that records indicate participated in the election. This canvass must be completed 14 days after election day.	This procedure costs the taxpayer nothing but gives a campaign an inexpensive way to begin to make an official case for vote irregularities promptly if the campaign has reason to believe they have occurred. It quickly dismisses charges of election fraud if the candidate can’t find it in the most likely areas.
Ballots and accessories (envelopes, poll books, including the master state file of all registered voters eligible to vote in an election) to be retained for three years after an election.	Extending the length of time election materials are retained past one major election cycle ensures there is time to scrutinize an election should it be necessary.
The cost of printing ballots and administering the election shall be charged to the public, either through county or local governments. No non-governmental entity or individual shall contribute funds for conducting any election in the state of Utah.	This ensures that special interests do not gain any measure of control over the administration of an election.