Election workers process ballots at the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
A hotly debated bill to phase out Utah’s automatic voting by mail and to begin requiring voters to write the last four digits of their state identification number has undergone another round of changes.
A new version of HB300 won approval from the Senate Business and Labor Committee on a 5-3 vote Monday evening, advancing the bill closer to its legislative finish line. It now goes to the full Senate for consideration.
The bill’s House sponsor, Rep. Jefferson Burton, R-Salem, acknowledged HB300 has “changed a lot” since its original version, which would have originally drastically restricted voting by mail and required most Utahns to return their ballots in person at either a polling place or a drop box manned by at least two poll workers while showing their government-issued ID.
Last week, the bill was largely scaled back through negotiations by Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, to instead require Utah voters to write the last four digits of their ID on their ballot’s return envelope beginning in 2026. It would have also slowly phased out Utah’s current automatic vote-by-mail system by requiring all registered voters to opt in to receiving by-mail ballots by Jan. 1, 2028.
Now, the latest version of HB300 provides even more time to implement those changes. Clerks will now have until Jan. 1, 2029 to rely solely on confirming the last four digits of voters’ ID on their ballots rather than using signatures to verify their identities.
“We did that to give voters time to be educated on this process (and) to help our election officials” tackle the changes, Burton said, noting that HB300 would also use $2 million to “start the education process so that the citizens know what’s going on.”
The latest version of HB300 would do the following:
- Starting in 2026, require voters with a valid state ID to include the last four digits of their state ID when returning a ballot through the mail or in a drop box. For registered voters who cast their ballot without an ID number, clerks would confirm their ballots by matching their signatures.
- Phase out Utah’s current automatic vote-by-mail system by 2029. In order to vote by mail, Utahns would be required to obtain a valid state ID by Jan. 1, 2029 and opt in to voting by mail. By that deadline, clerks would also be required to rely on confirming state ID numbers on ballots rather than signature verification.
- Allows Utahns who are eligible to register to vote that also sign an affidavit stating that they’re indigent to receive a state voter ID card free of charge.
- Beginning in 2029, voters who vote in person must present a valid ID, except in certain circumstances, in which a voter could sign an affidavit and present two forms of alternative ID (like a social security card, bank statement or paystub).
- By 2029, requires voters to opt in to receive by-mail ballots every eight years.
- Creates new ways for voters to opt in to voting by mail, including when renewing their driver’s license, voting in person, or through an online portal.
- Restrict Utah’s current deadline for by-mail ballots. Currently, Utah allows by-mail ballots to be postmarked by the day before Election Day in order for clerks to count them, but HB300 would require ballots to be in clerks’ possession no later than 8 p.m. on election night, regardless of their postmark.
- Enhances the lieutenant governor’s ability to investigate voter registration roll inaccuracies.
“We’re doing everything we can to ensure we’re not limiting the vote for anyone who desires to vote,” Burton said.
Utah House passes scaled back bill to require voter ID, still allow voting by mail
Beyond helping the lieutenant governor maintain voter rolls, Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Wood Cross, questioned what is the “primary problem” HB300 is trying to fix.
Burton acknowledged recent legislative audits “did not find rampant voter fraud” but rather a “few issues” with voter rolls. However, he said his aim is to add voter ID requirements. He pointed to a Pew Research survey that showed 81% of Americans “believe and agree you should show your ID when you vote.”
“We have a good system (in Utah),” Burton said, “but all this does is enhance an already good system so there’s a certain level of confidence that some people may not have when they don’t see people showing identification to vote.”
Citing an outpouring of concern expressed from his constituents, Sen. Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City, told Burton, “I need to ask you: Does this bill make it harder for my constituents to vote?”
Burton acknowledged that as changes are put in place from 2026 to 2029, “It’s probably going to be a bit challenging as they navigate that, but once they get on the cycle it’s going to be very simple.”
“What they need to know between now and (2029), is that they’ll need to opt in to vote by mail,” Burton said.
However, clerks still expressed concerns with the bill.
“While many changes have been made, there are still substantial hurdles that this bill brings forward,” Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman said, noting that in her county, more than 91% of voters have cast by-mail ballots. She also worried that the added requirements to review both the last four digits of voters’ ID, in addition to signature verification, will “at a minimum, double the amount of time” it will take for clerks to verify ballots.
Utah election audit finds no ‘significant fraud,’ but raises concern over voter roll maintenance
“We’re not quite there yet,” Chapman said about the bill.
Iron County Clerk Jon Whittaker said clerks continue to have “grave concerns” about HB300, even though he said it’s in a better place than its original version.
“Through a tremendous amount of work, this bill has almost become palatable,” he said. He also raised concerns about eventually dropping the signature requirement after 2029.
“I have my wife’s social security number memorized,” he said. “That’s much easier to fake.”
Shelly Jackson, deputy director of elections with the lieutenant governor’s office, thanked Burton and other legislative leaders for negotiating with them on the bill, and while she said it still needs some work, “we are supportive” of the new version.
Pro-democracy groups including the Utah League of Women Voters of Utah urged lawmakers not to support the bill, arguing Utah’s existing vote-by-mail system has helped increase voter turnout and election security. While the new version of HB300 is an improvement, Helen Moser, the group’s director of voter services, argued it adds unnecessary hurdles to voting.
“HB300 would create immediate confusion for voters and clerks, by forcing new ID requirements and ballot verification steps, and you’d have very limited time to educate the public,” Moser said. “Outreach would need to be significant to ensure all voters obtain the appropriate ID.”
Moser also warned that after it takes full effect in 2029, Utah will likely see a decrease in voter turnout.
Rob Axson, chairman of the Utah Republican Party, advocated for the bill, to bridge divides between those who think Utah’s election system is fine the way it is, and those who believe it needs improvements.
In a handout passed out to committee members, Burton also pointed to an “election security scorecard” by the Heritage Foundation — the conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. that was behind Project 2025 — and said his bill will bring Utah’s score from 33rd out of 50 states to No. 9.
“What exactly is that?” Vickers questioned.
Burton said the Heritage Foundation is an organization “that we’ve referred to” while drafting the bill, and he said, “I’ve got several letters from them supporting the bill.”
Ultimately, the Senate committee narrowly approved HB300 on a 5-3 vote, advancing it to the Senate floor. But two Republicans — Vickers and Weiler — joined Sen. Stephanie Pitcher, D-Salt Lake City — in voting against the bill.
“I’m concerned, first of all, that it makes it harder to vote,” Weiler said. “People will perceive this as taking away something that they’ve enjoyed now for over a decade.”
Burton, while urging support of his bill, said “trust in elections is foundational to a free republic.”
“If a certain percentage of our population doesn’t trust in the election process, then we have a problem,” he said, adding that polls have shown Utah could make some changes to improve trust. “We’re not producing this bill in a vacuum or an echo chamber. What problem are we trying to solve? Voter confidence and really to clean up voter rolls. Those are two things that must be done.”
Senate committee rejects bill that would have originally removed Utah from ERIC
Another lawmaker’s efforts to clean up Utah’s voter rolls and make Utah the next state to break ties with a nonprofit that’s meant to keep states’ voter rolls up to date appear to have hit a dead end.
An earlier version of HB332 that won approval from the full House, sponsored by House Majority Whip Karianne Lisonbee, R-Clearfield, would have required Utah to end its membership with the national Electronic Registration Information Center, known as ERIC, a nonprofit that helps states maintain their voter rolls by sharing information across state lines.
Utah one step closer to becoming next state to leave voter roll group ERIC
However, Lisonbee — likely anticipating an uphill battle for her bill in the Senate — changed her bill in Monday night’s Senate committee to strip out that provision. A new version of her bill would have also sought to require Utahns to have proof of U.S. citizenship in order to vote in a state election.
But even with the changes, the Senate Business and Labor Committee wasn’t having it.
After previously passing out Burton’s HB300 — which appears to be the flagship election bill both House and Senate leaders are backing during lawmakers’ 2025 session — the Senate committee voted down Lisonbee’s bill without any debate.
A motion to favorably recommend it to the Senate floor failed on a 4-3 vote, with a member of Senate Republican leadership, Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore, R-Sandy, joining Vickers, Weiler and Pitcher voting against it.
It’s not clear whether Lisonbee will try to revive her bill. A request for comment to a House spokesperson was not immediately returned Tuesday.
The 2025 Utah Legislature’s 45-day general session is slated to end at the end of the week, required by law to adjourn before midnight on Friday.
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