- Utah's HB167, proposing online publication of candidate petition signatories, was stalled on Tuesday.
- Concerns over political pressure and privacy were raised by lawmakers during discussions.
- Meanwhile, HB32, focusing on privacy and training for signature gatherers, advanced to the House.
SALT LAKE CITY — A proposal to publicly list the names of those who sign petitions in support of candidates for office is not moving forward, at least for now.
The House Government Operations Committee voted 5-2 on Tuesday to hold HB167, sponsored by Rep. Mike Kohler, R-Midway, preventing it from moving further at this point.
Kohler's bill would require the lieutenant governor's office to post online the name and date of signatures five days after they are verified, where they would remain publicly available until 90 days after the primary election. Kohler told the committee this would allow people to verify who signs a petition to help a candidate secure a spot on the ballot, as permitted by Utah law.
"It makes a good effort to be clear, to clarify the process and then be very transparent," Kohler said.
According to Kohler, this bill stems from the "news and hype" in the aftermath of the contentious 2024 Republican gubernatorial primary. Phil Lyman, a former state lawmaker who lost that race to Gov. Spencer Cox, repeatedly questioned the validity of signatures Cox's campaign used to qualify for the ballot.
Later, then-State Auditor John Dougall conducted a review of signature packets and concluded that, while a handful of submitted signatures appeared not to match the signatures on file, it was "statistically likely" that Cox and two other GOP candidates "met the statutory threshold of required valid signatures."
"In addition," Dougall noted, "each candidate had ample time before the deadline to gather additional signatures, if requested by the signature validators."
Ultimately, Lyman never conceded his loss to Cox, who went on to defeat Democrat Brian King and was sworn in to a second term in January 2025.
During Tuesday's House committee hearing, several lawmakers appeared troubled by Kohler's bill, which would also specify deadlines for removing a signature from a petition and require election officials to notify prosecutors if someone reports a fraudulent signature.
"I just worry with making names public that there is going to be political browbeating that goes on," said Rep. Doug Welton, R-Payson.
"I think we live in a time when positions in politics are so hyperfocused and extreme, that there are going to be a lot of people who are going to be hesitant to sign anything based on the fact that someone who disagree(s) with them can go and see publicly what they did," added Rep. Andrew Stoddard, D-Midvale.
A similar bill from Kohler passed the House of Representatives last year, 43-27, but it stalled in the Senate and did not move forward before the 2025 legislative session ended. This year's proposal could still come back up for a vote before the session ends on March 6.
After Kohler presented his bill Tuesday, the same House committee unanimously approved another election-related bill, HB32. The measure, sponsored by Rep. Paul Cutler, R-Centerville, would require county clerks to send an email or text message to someone once their signature for a petition – candidate or otherwise – has been verified.
Cutler told KSL his approach is different from Kohler's.
"We're trying to protect privacy and do as little posting online of people's names as possible," he said.
His bill would also require signature gatherers to complete an online training course that outlines requirements and procedures. KSL recently reported on complaints from people who felt misled by some who are seeking to overturn Proposition 4 on the November ballot.
"I think the training will take care of many of the challenges that you've been reporting on about people not understanding what the laws are around signature gathering," Cutler said.
HB32 now heads to the House of Representatives for a vote.
