§ 20A-9-405. Nomination petitions for regular primary elections. (Effective 1/1/2015)

(1) This section shall apply to the form and circulation of nomination petitions for regular primary elections described in Subsection 20A-9-403(3)(a).

(2) A candidate for elective office, and the agents of the candidate, may not circulate nomination petitions until the candidate has submitted a declaration of candidacy in accordance with Subsection 20A-9-202(1).

(3) The nomination petitions shall be in substantially the following form:

(a) the petition shall be printed on paper 8-1/2 inches long and 11 inches wide;

(b) the petition shall be ruled with a horizontal line 3/4 inch from the top, with the space above that line blank for purposes of binding;

(c) the petition shall be headed by a caption stating the purpose of the petition and the name of the proposed candidate;

(d) the petition shall feature the word "Warning" followed by the following statement in no less than eight-point, single leaded type: "It is a class A misdemeanor for anyone to knowingly sign a certificate of nomination signature sheet with any name other than the person's own name or more than once for the same candidate or if the person is not registered to vote in this state and does not intend to become registered to vote in this state before signatures are certified by a filing officer.";

(e) the petition shall feature 10 lines spaced one-half inch apart and consecutively numbered one through 10;

(f) the signature portion of the petition shall be divided into columns headed by the following titles:

(i) Registered Voter's Printed Name;

(ii) Signature of Registered Voter;

(iii) Party Affiliation of Registered Voter;

(iv) Birth Date or Age (Optional);

(v) Street Address, City, Zip Code; and

(vi) Date of Signature; and

(g) a photograph of the candidate may appear on the nomination petition.

(4) If one or more nomination petitions are bound together, a page shall be bound to the nomination petition(s) that features the following printed verification statement to be signed and dated by the petition circulator:     "Verification
     State of Utah, County of ____
     I, ____, of ____, hereby state under that:
     I am a Utah resident and am at least 18 years old;
     All the names that appear on the signature sheets bound to this page were, to the best of my knowledge, signed by the persons who professed to be the persons whose names appear on the signature sheets, and each of them signed the person's name on the signature sheets in my presence;
     I believe that each has printed and signed the person's name and written the person's street address correctly, and that each signer is registered to vote in Utah or will register to vote in Utah before the county clerk certifies the signatures on the signature sheet."

(5) The lieutenant governor shall prepare and make public model nomination petition forms and associated instructions.

(6) A nomination petition circulator must be at least18 years old and a resident of the state, but may affiliate with any political party.

(7) It is unlawful for any person to:

(a) knowingly sign the nomination petition sheet described in Subsection (3):

(i) with any name other than the person's own name;

(ii) more than once for the same candidate; or

(iii) if the person is not registered to vote in this state and does not intend to become registered to vote in this state prior to 5 p.m. on the final day in March;

(b) sign the verification of a certificate of nomination signature sheet described in Subsection (4) if the person:

(i) does not meet the residency requirements of Section 20A-2-105;

(ii) has not witnessed the signing by those persons whose names appear on the certificate of nomination signature sheet; or

(iii) knows that a person whose signature appears on the certificate of nomination signature sheet is not registered to vote in this state and does not intend to become registered to vote in this state;

(c) pay compensation to any person to sign a nomination petition; or

(d) pay compensation to any person to circulate a nomination petition, if the compensation is based directly on the number of signatures submitted to a filing officer rather than on the number of signatures verified or on some other basis.

(8) Any person violating Subsection (7) is guilty of a class A misdemeanor.

(9) Withdrawal of petition signatures shall not be permitted.

Enacted by Chapter 17, 2014 General Session