Utah Secure Website for Filing and Signing Initiatives Measure (2026)
| Utah Secure Website for Filing and Signing Initiatives Measure | |
|---|---|
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| Election date November 3, 2026 | |
| Topic Direct democracy measures | |
| Status Pending official review | |
| Type State statute | Origin Citizens |
The Utah Secure Website for Filing and Signing Initiatives Measure may appear on the ballot in Utah as an initiated state statute on November 3, 2026.
The initiative would require the Lieutenant Governor to create and maintain a secure website for voters to file and sign initiative and referendum petitions electronically. The initiative would provide for initiative signature requirements and deadlines. Under the initiative, statewide initiatives would be required to collect signatures equal to 1% of active statewide voters (rather than the current requirement of 8%).
Text of measure
The full text is available here.
Path to the ballot
Process in Utah
An initiated state statute is a citizen-initiated ballot measure that amends state statute. There are 21 states that allow citizens to initiate state statutes, including 14 that provide for direct initiatives and nine (9) that provide for indirect initiatives (two provide for both). An indirect initiated state statute goes to the legislature after a successful signature drive. The legislatures in these states have the option of approving the initiative itself, rather than the initiative appearing on the ballot.
In Utah, the number of required signatures is tied to the number of active voters as of January 1 following the most recent regular general election. For directly initiated statutes, proponents must gather signatures equal to 8 percent of the total number of active voters. For directly initiated state statutes, signatures must be collected from each of at least 26 of the 29 Utah State Senate districts equal to 8 percent of active voters in the state as of January 1 of the year following the last regular general election.
State law establishes a final signature deadline for direct initiated state statutes as either 316 days after the initial initiative application was filed or February 15 of the election year, whichever is earlier. Moreover, signature petition sheet packets for direct initiatives must be submitted to county clerks on a rolling basis no more than 30 days after the first signature is added to the packet.
The requirements to get an initiated state statute certified for the 2026 ballot:
- Signatures: 140,748 valid signatures are required.
- Deadline: The deadline to submit signatures is February 15, 2026. An initiative also has a specific deadline 316 days following the initial application.
Stages of this ballot initiative
The following is the timeline of the initiative:[1]
- August 19, 2024: The initiative was filed with the secretary of state.
- February 12, 2024: The initiative was withdrawn and a second version was refiled with the secretary of state's office.
- June 26, 2025: Given that the Lt. Governor rejected the initiative petition, sponsors of the initiative filed an emergency writ with the Utah Supreme Court. They announced they hope the Supreme Court will overturn the Lt. Governor's decision.[2]
See also
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External links
Footnotes
