Rules governing school board election dates and timing in Utah
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| Utah overview: • Election dates: On cycle |
| Key policies: • Election dates and timing • Party labels on the ballot |
| Key terms • On-cycle elections • Off-cycle elections • Off-year elections • Off-date elections • Party labels • Partisan elections • Nonpartisan elections |
School board nonpartisan primary elections in Utah are held on the Fourth Tuesday in June every two years in even-numbered years.
School board general elections in Utah are held in each district on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in even-numbered years.
See law: Utah Statute Section 20A-14-202, Section 20A-1-201.5, and Section 20A-9-403 and Utah Statute Section 20A-14-202 and Section 20A-1-201
There were 41 public school districts in Utah with a total of 233 school board member seats as of 2022. Those school districts operated a total of 944 schools serving 606,880 students.
You will find the following information on this page:
- the timing and frequency of school board elections
- candidate filing deadlines
- the number of school board members
- the length of school board terms
- the way in which elections for different board seats are staggered
- recent changes to laws governing school board election timing
- how Utah compares to other states
- when new board members officially take office.
Across the country, there are 13,024 public school districts governed by a total of about 82,600 board members. Most school board members are elected directly by voters, while a small number of districts have appointed school board members or a combination of appointed and elected school board members.
The timing of elections for school board members varies widely across states and even across districts in the same state in some cases. In 14 states, most school board elections are held on-cycle with federal elections in November of even-numbered years. Most school board elections in the other states are held off-cycle. This includes off-date elections—for example, elections held in the spring or summer—and off-year elections held in odd-numbered years.
On-cycle local elections have higher voter turnout than off-cycle local elections.
The information in this page was last updated in 2022. Please email editor@ballotpedia.org with any updates, corrections, exceptions, or improvements.
Election dates and frequency
School board nonpartisan primary elections in Utah are held on the Fourth Tuesday in June every two years in even-numbered years. The nonpartisan primary election is only held for school board candidates if more than two candidates file for the same local school board seat.
School board general elections in Utah are held in each district on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November every two years in even-numbered years.
See law: Utah Statute Section 20A-14-202, Section 20A-1-201.5, and Section 20A-9-403 and Utah Statute Section 20A-14-202 and Section 20A-1-201
Recent or upcoming election dates for all public school districts in the state
Below are the recent/upcoming dates for all public school districts in the state. There may be exceptions to these dates for specific districts because of local charters and district-specific exceptions and carve-outs.
- Filing deadline date: January 8, 2026
- Primary election date: June 23, 2026
- General election date: November 3, 2026
Filing deadlines and swearing-in dates
School board candidates in Utah must file declarations of candidacy by 5 p.m. on the fourth day after the filing window opens. The filing window opens on January 2 of the year of the election in even-numbered years. If January 2 is not a business day, the filing window opens on the first business day after January 2.
See law:
Utah Statute Section 20A-14-203 and Section 20A-9-201.5
School board candidates in Utah can file declarations of candidacy beginning on January 2 of the year of the election in even-numbered years. If January 2 is not a business day, the filing window opens on the first business day after January 2. The filing window is four days long.
See law:
Utah Statute Section 20A-14-203 and Section 20A-9-201.5
The terms of newly elected school board candidates in Utah officially begin on the first Monday in January following their election.
See law:
Utah Statute Section 20A-14-203
Election system
Types of elections
School board members in Utah are elected through a system of a nonpartisan primary election and a nonpartisan general election. Nonpartisan primary elections are only held if enough candidates file for a school board seat.
See law: Utah Statute Section 20A-14-202 and Section 20A-1-201.5
Party labels on the ballot
School board elections in Utah are nonpartisan, which means party labels do not appear on the ballot for school board candidates. Utah Election Code states that "The county clerk shall [...] place the names of all candidates who have filed a declaration of candidacy for a local board of education seat on the nonpartisan section of the ballot if more than two candidates have filed for the same seat." It also states, "A candidate who, at the regular primary election, receives the highest number of votes cast for the office sought by the candidate is [...] for a nonpartisan local school board position, nominated for that office."
See law:
Utah Statute Section 20A-9-403
What it takes to win an election
In a general school board election, the candidate that receives the most votes is elected to office.
If more than two candidates file for the same local school board seat, a nonpartisan primary election is held, and the two candidates that receive the most votes in the nonpartisan primary advance to the general election. If one or two candidates but not more file for the same local school board seat, the nonpartisan primary election is canceled and the candidates automatically advance to the general election.
See law:
Utah Statute Section 20A-9-403
Number, terms, and types of school board seats
Number of board members
School districts in Utah with student populations of less than 10,000 students have five board members. As of 2023, 27 school districts (66%) had five board members, and 14 school districts (34%) had seven board members.
School districts in Utah with student populations of 10,000 students or more but fewer than 50,000 students have seven board members.
School districts in Utah with student populations of 50,000 students or more but fewer than 100,000 students have seven board members by default. The school boards of districts in this student population range can increase the number of board members to nine through a majority vote. Seven-member or nine-member school district boards do not decrease in size due to decreases in student population.
School districts in Utah with student populations of 100,000 students or more have nine board members. As of 2023, no school districts in Utah had student populations of more 100,000 students or more.
See law: Utah Statute Section 20A-14-202
Board member term lengths
School board members in Utah have four-year regular terms.
See law:
Utah Statute Section 20A-14-203
School board member election staggering
As close to half of board members as possible for each district in Utah are up for election every two years. Utah statute states that, except when required temporarily for redistricting or a change in the number of board members, no more than three members can be elected at any regular election for a five-member board, no more than four members can be elected at any regular election for a seven-member board, and no more than five members can be elected at any regular election for a nine-member board.
See law: Utah Statute Section 20A-14-202
Representation: elections at-large or by sub-districts
School board members in Utah are elected from sub-districts.
See law: Utah Statute Section 20A-14-202
Recent changes to laws governing school board election dates and timing in Utah
2022 legislation changing school board sizes
In 2022, the Utah Legislature passed Senate Bill 78, which went into effect in January 2023. SB 78 allowed for some districts to have nine board members and changed provisions governing student thresholds determining school board sizes. Before SB 78, districts with fewer than 24,000 students had five board members, and districts with 24,000 students or more had seven board members.[1]
2022 legislation moving the school board candidate filing deadline
In 2022, the Utah Legislature passed Senate Bill 170, which went into effect in February 2022. SB 170 moved the filing deadline for school board candidates from mid-March to early January.[2]
How does Utah compare to other states?
Across the country, there are 13,187 public school districts governed by a total of 83,183 school board members. They are elected directly by voters except for a small handful of exceptions who are appointed.
The analysis below is based on state laws governing school board elections and some researched common practices. In some states, the state law mandates a specific date. In others, the laws allow districts to choose their own election date from a range or a list of allowed dates or through charter provisions.
- 25 states have school board elections that are mostly held off cycle from federal elections. This includes both off-year and off-date elections.
- 10 of those states have school board elections that are mostly or at least commonly held on election dates in November of odd-numbered years.
- 16 of those states have school board elections mostly or at least commonly held on election dates that are not in November.
- 14 states have school board elections that are mostly held on cycle with federal elections in November of even-numbered years.
- 9 states either do not have state laws or overwhelmingly common practices that determine a specific school board election date or have varying school board election dates.
- Hawaii has a single, appointed school board.
See also
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School board election rules: |
School board election coverage: |
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Footnotes
