Utah Senate kills then resurrects bill to eliminate signature-gathering path for candidates
Some worry the bill would lead to a referendum effort to do away with Utah’s convention system.
(Rick Bowmer | AP file photo) Republican Sen. Dan McCay s bill giving political parties the ability to prevent candidates from gathering signatures to get on the ballot was killed then resurrected in the Utah Senate on Feb. 25, 2021 | Updated: 3:50 a.m.
The Utah Senate on Thursday evening killed a proposal to give political parties the option of doing away with the alternative path to the ballot for candidates who gather signatures. But, less than an hour later, they revived the bill and advanced it.
Deseret News
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Then-Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, left, former Utah House Speaker Greg Hughes, former Utah GOP Chairman Thomas Wright and former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. appear at a forum for Republican primary gubernatorial candidates in Salt Lake City last May. A new bill before the state Legislature takes aim at political parties’ nominating processes.
Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY A lawmaker is resurrecting a bill that would take a step back from a controversial law passed several years ago that allows candidates for political office to gather voter signatures.
“When we look back at SB54 over the last seven years and look at the effect of having the signature path, there are a few unintended consequences of SB54,” Sen. Daniel McCay, R-Riverton, told members of the Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee on Monday.
| Updated: Feb. 23, 2021, 12:40 a.m.
The annual attempt by Utah lawmakers to bypass the signature-gathering path for candidates to get on the primary ballot is headed to the Senate floor.
A Senate committee gave the thumbs up to SB205 on Monday, to give political parties several options for determining how candidates qualify for the primary ballot.
“We have about $2.5 million being spent on the signature-gathering process over the last six years,” says bill sponsor Sen. Dan McCay, R-Riverton. He added that “99.3% of elections during that time were won by candidates that qualified for the ballot through the convention process.”
McCay’s bill creates four categories of political parties, with various paths for candidates to win the nomination, including one that would allow the party to send the top two vote-getters at convention to the primary unless one secured two-thirds support from delegates and clinched the nomination.
Effort to let political parties drop signature gathering to qualify for primary returns to Capitol ksl.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ksl.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.