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Laws governing local ballot measures in Utah

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Laws Governing Local Ballot Measures
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This page describes the state constitutional provisions and statutes that govern local ballot measures in Utah. Jurisdictions often establish additional rules within the parameters of state law; those can be found in local ordinances and home-rule charters.

Explore the links below for more information:

Law

The Utah Constitution and the Utah State Election Code establish the rules that govern local ballot measures in the state.

General

The following outlines the general rules that govern local ballot measures in Utah, including both citizen-initiated measures and referred measures from local government bodies.

  • Election timing:
    • Referred measures: Local measures must be held during a general or municipal election unless the legislative body unanimously votes for a special election for the referred measure.[1]
    • Veto referendums: Unless the local legislative body calls a special election, county and municipal officials are required to place referendums on the next general election ballot. However, if the measure is passed after January 30th in the year there is a regular or municipal general election, the measure must be placed on the ballot in the second general election after the measure is approved by the legislative body.[2]
    • Citizen-initiated laws: Initiated laws rejected by the local legislative body must be placed on the ballot for the next general election after the initiative application is fulfilled.[3]
  • Vote requirements: All local ballot measures in Utah require a simple majority vote to be approved.[2][4]
  • Required ballot measures: Bond issues and laws that would result in a property tax increase must be submitted to and approved by voters before they pass into law.[5][6]
  • Ballot measure topic restrictions: In Utah, there are no statewide topic restrictions for local ballot measures. However, there are different requirements for ballot measures that concern land use laws, subjurisdictional laws, and transit area land use laws.[7] For example, for proponents to place a land use law on the ballot, they need to gather more signatures than is necessary for a non-land use law. The requirements outlined on this page do not cover these exceptions. Full explanations of the differences in requirements for specific topics can be found in Utah Election Code.

Initiatives

The following outlines the general rules that govern local citizen-initiated ballot measures in Utah.

  • Authority: Section 1 of Article VI of the Utah Constitution grants voters the right to indirectly initiate legislation or file a veto referendum to attempt to repeal any law passed by any local jurisdiction.
  • Deadlines:
    • Veto referendums: Sponsors must file the application for a local veto referendum no later than the first business day that is five days after the law is passed.[7]
    • Citizen-initiated laws: After the initiative petition is submitted, the local legislative body has 30 calendar days after receiving it to either adopt or reject the law.[8]
  • Signatures:
    • Veto referendums: Signature requirements to place a veto referendum on the local ballot vary based on the size classification of the city or county; the requirements range from 7.75% to 40% of active voters in the jurisdiction.[7] Additionally, the signatures must be obtained from at least 75% of the jurisdiction's voter participation areas.[7] Definitions of a voter participation area can be found here.
    • Citizen-initiated laws: Like veto referendums, the signature requirements to place an initiated measure on the local ballot vary based on the size classification of the city or county; the requirements range from 7.75% to 35% of active voters in the jurisdiction.[8] Additionally, the signatures must be obtained from at least 75% of the jurisdiction's voter participation areas.[8]

Referrals

The following outlines additional rules that govern local referred ballot measures in Utah.

  • Authority: Section 3 of Article XIV of the Utah Constitution requires local governments to submit laws that would issue debt or increase property taxes to voters for their approval or rejection.
  • Deadlines: For local bond measures and tax measures, the legislative body must pass the measure at least 75 days before the election it will be referred to voters.[5][9] Local measures must be held during a general or municipal election unless the legislative body unanimously votes for a special election for the referred measure.[1]

Laws governing local ballot measures in the U.S.

Laws governing local ballot measures in the United States

As state laws govern ballot measures, the rules are different from state to state. Click on a state below to explore that state's laws on local ballot measures.

http://ballotpedia.org/Laws_governing_local_ballot_measures_in_STATE

External links

See also

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Utah State Election Code, "Chapter 1, Part 2, Section 204," accessed November 10, 2025
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Utah State Legislature, "Utah State Election Code, Chapter 7, Part 6, Section 609, accessed November 10, 2025
  3. ↑ Utah State Legislature, "Utah State Election Code, Chapter 7, Part 5, Section 501, accessed November 10, 2025
  4. ↑ Utah State Legislature, "Utah State Election Code, Chapter 7, Part 5, Section 510, accessed November 10, 2025
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Utah State Legislature, "Utah State Code, Title 11, Chapter 14, Part 2, Section 201
  6. ↑ Ballotpedia, "Article XIV Utah Constitution," accessed November 10, 2025
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Utah State Legislature, "Utah State Election Code, Chapter 7, Part 6, Section 601, accessed November 10, 2025
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Utah State Legislature, "Utah State Election Code, Chapter 7, Part 5, Section 501, accessed November 10, 2025
  9. ↑ "Utah State Code, Title 59 Revenue and Taxation," accessed November 10, 2025
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