the petition -- Certification of signatures -- Transfer to lieutenant governor -- Removal of signature. (1) This section applies only to the manual initiative process and the manual referendum process. (2) As used in this section: (a) "Local petition" means: (i) a manual local initiative petition described in Part 5, Local Initiatives - Procedures; or (ii) a manual local referendum petition described in Part 6, Local Referenda - Procedures. (b) "Packet" means an initiative packet or referendum packet. (c) "Petition" means a local petition or statewide petition. (d) "Statewide petition" means: (i) a manual statewide initiative petition described in Part 2, Statewide Initiatives; or (ii) a manual statewide referendum petition described in Part 3, Statewide Referenda. (3) (a) A Utah voter may sign a statewide petition if the voter is a legal voter. (b) A Utah voter may sign a local petition if the voter: (i) is a legal voter; and (ii) resides in the local jurisdiction. (4) (a) The sponsors shall ensure that the individual in whose presence each signature sheet was signed: (i) is at least 18 years old; (ii) verifies each signature sheet by completing the verification printed on the last page of each packet; and (iii) is informed that, before signing a signature sheet, a signer is required to have an opportunity to read and understand: (A) for an initiative petition, the law proposed by the initiative; or (B) for a referendum petition, the law that the referendum seeks to overturn. (b) An individual may not sign the verification printed on the last page of a packet if the individual signed a signature sheet in the packet. (5) (a) The sponsors, or an agent of the sponsors, shall submit a signed and verified packet to the county clerk of the county in which the packet was circulated before 5 p.m. no later than the earlier of: (i) for a statewide initiative: (A) the first business day that is at least 30 calendar days after the day on which the first individual signs the initiative packet; (B) the last business day that is no more than 316 calendar days after the day on which the application for the initiative petition is filed; or (C) the February 15 immediately before the next regular general election immediately after the application is filed under Section 20A-7-202; (ii) for a statewide referendum: (A) the first business day that is at least 30 calendar days after the day on which the first individual signs the referendum packet; or (B) the first business day that is at least 40 calendar days after the day on which the legislative session at which the law passed ends; (iii) for a local initiative: (A) the first business day that is at least 30 calendar days after the day on which the first individual signs the initiative packet; (B) the last business day that is no more than 316 calendar days after the day on which the application is filed; (C) the April 15 immediately before the next regular general election immediately after the application is filed under Section 20A-7-502, if the local initiative is a county initiative; or (D) the April 15 immediately before the next municipal general election immediately after the application is filed under Section 20A-7-502, if the local initiative is a municipal initiative; or (iv) for a local referendum: (A) the first business day that is at least 30 calendar days after the day on which the first individual signs the referendum packet; or (B) the first business day that is at least 45 calendar days after the day on which the sponsors receive the items described in Subsection 20A-7-604(3) from the local clerk. (b) A person may not mark, redact, or otherwise alter a signature sheet in a manner that obscures, conceals, or renders illegible a signer's date of signature or other information provided by the signer that is used for verification under this section. (c) Before delivering an initiative packet to the county clerk under this Subsection (5), the sponsors shall send an email to each individual who provides a legible, valid email address on the signature sheet that includes the following: (i) the subject of the email shall include the following statement, "Notice Regarding Your Petition Signature"; and (ii) the body of the email shall include the following statement in 12-point type: "You signed a petition for the following initiative: [insert title of initiative] To access a copy of the initiative petition, the initiative, the fiscal impact statement, and information on the deadline for removing your signature from the petition, please visit the following link: [insert a uniform resource locator that takes the individual directly to the page on the lieutenant governor's or county clerk's website that includes the information referred to in the email]." (d) For a statewide initiative, the sponsors shall, no later than 5 p.m. on the day on which the sponsors submit the last initiative packet to the county clerk, submit to the lieutenant governor: (i) a list containing: (A) the name and email address of each individual the sponsors sent, or caused to be sent, the email described in Subsection (5)(c); and (B) the date the email was sent; (ii) a copy of the email described in Subsection (5)(c); and (iii) the following written verification, completed and signed by each of the sponsors: "Verification of initiative sponsor State of Utah, County of __________I, __________, of __________, hereby state, under penalty of perjury, that: I am a sponsor of the initiative petition entitled ____________________; and I sent, or caused to be sent, to each individual who provided a legible, valid email address on a signature sheet submitted to the county clerk in relation to the initiative petition, the email described in Utah Code Subsection 20A-7-105(5)(c). _____________________________________________________________________________________ (Printed Name) (Signature) (Residence Address) (Date)." (e) For a local initiative, the sponsors shall, no later than 5 p.m. on the day on which the sponsors submit the last initiative packet to the local clerk, submit to the local clerk the items described in Subsection (5)(d). (f) Signatures gathered for an initiative petition are not valid if the sponsors do not comply with Subsection (5)(c), (d), or (e). (6) (a) Within 21 calendar days after the day on which the county clerk receives the packet, the county clerk shall: (i) use the procedures described in Section 20A-1-1002, or 20A-7-106 if applicable, to determine whether each signer is a legal voter and, as applicable, the jurisdiction where the signer is registered to vote; (ii) for a statewide initiative or a statewide referendum: (A) certify on the petition whether each name is that of a legal voter; and (B) post the name, voter identification number, and the date the signature of each legal voter was certified under Subsection (6)(a)(ii)(A) on the lieutenant governor's website, in a conspicuous location designated by the lieutenant governor; and (iii) for a local initiative or a local referendum: (A) certify on the petition whether each name is that of a legal voter who is registered in the jurisdiction to which the initiative or referendum relates; (B) post the name, voter identification number, and date of signature of each legal voter certified under Subsection (6)(a)(iii)(A) on the lieutenant governor's website, in a conspicuous location designated by the lieutenant governor; and (C) deliver the verified packet to the local clerk. (b) (i) For a statewide initiative or statewide referendum, the county clerk shall, no later than seven calendar days after the last day the county clerk makes the posting described in Subsection (6)(a)(ii)(B), certify the following information to the lieutenant governor: (A) the total number of verified packets in the county clerk's possession; (B) the total number of signatures verified by the county clerk; (C) of the number described in Subsection (6)(b)(i)(B), the number of signatures the county clerk declared valid and invalid under Section 20A-1-1002; and (D) a breakdown of the number of invalid signatures, categorized by the reason for the invalidity; and (ii) After a county clerk sends the certification described in Subsection (6)(b)(i) to the lieutenant governor, the county clerk shall retain and preserve each verified packet in the manner described in Subsection 20A-4-202(2). (c) For a local initiative or local referendum, the local clerk shall post a link in a conspicuous location on the local government's website to the posting described in Subsection (6)(a)(iii) (B): (i) for a local initiative, during the period of time described in Subsection 20A-7-507(3)(a); or (ii) for a local referendum, during the period of time described in Subsection 20A-7-607(2)(a)(i). (7) (a) The county clerk may not certify a signature under Subsection (6)(a): (i) on a packet that is not verified in accordance with Subsection (4)(a)(ii); (ii) that does not have a date of signature next to the signature; or (iii) except as provided in Subsection (7)(b), if the date of signature is later than the applicable deadline described in Subsection (5)(a). (b) A county clerk may not refuse to certify a signature under Subsection (6)(a) or otherwise reject the packet solely because the date written next to the signature contains a one- calendar-year error if the date, adjusted by one calendar year, would fall within the period that: (i) begins on the day on which the first individual signs the packet under Subsection (5)(a); and (ii) ends on the day on which the packet is submitted. (c) Certification of a signature described in Subsection (7)(b) does not change the date on which the first individual signs the packet for purposes of calculating a deadline under Subsection (5)(a). (8) Beginning on January 1, 2027, an election officer shall, within two business days after the day on which the county clerk determines the signer of an initiative is a legal voter eligible to sign a signature sheet, send the following email notice to the signer if the signer's voter registration record includes a valid email address: (a) the subject of the email shall include the following statement, "Notice Regarding Your Petition Signature"; and (b) the body of the email shall include the following statement in 12-point type: "You signed a petition for the following initiative: [insert title of initiative] To access a copy of the initiative petition, the initiative, the fiscal impact statement, and information on the deadline for removing your signature from the petition, please visit the following link: [insert a uniform resource locator that takes the individual directly to the page on the lieutenant governor's or county clerk's website that includes the information referred to in the email]." (9) (a) A voter who signs a statewide initiative petition may have the voter's signature removed from the petition by, in accordance with Section 20A-1-1003, submitting to the county clerk a statement requesting that the voter's signature be removed no later than 5 p.m. the earlier of: (i) for an initiative packet received by the county clerk before December 1: (A) the first business day that is at least 30 calendar days after the day on which the voter signs the signature removal statement; or (B) the first business day that is at least 90 calendar days after the day on which the lieutenant governor posts the voter's name under Subsection 20A-7-207(2); or (ii) for an initiative packet received by the county clerk on or after December 1: (A) the first business day that is at least 30 calendar days after the day on which the voter signs the signature removal statement; or (B) the first business day that is at least 45 calendar days after the day on which the lieutenant governor posts the voter's name under Subsection 20A-7-207(2). (b) A voter who signs a statewide referendum petition may have the voter's signature removed from the petition by, in accordance with Section 20A-1-1003, submitting to the county clerk a statement requesting that the voter's signature be removed no later than 5 p.m. the earlier of: (i) the first business day that is at least 30 calendar days after the day on which the voter signs the statement requesting removal; or (ii) the first business day that is at least 45 calendar days after the day on which the lieutenant governor posts the voter's name under Subsection 20A-7-307(2). (c) A voter who signs a local initiative petition may have the voter's signature removed from the petition by, in accordance with Section 20A-1-1003, submitting to the county clerk a statement requesting that the voter's signature be removed no later than 5 p.m. the earlier of: (i) the first business day that is at least 30 calendar days after the day on which the voter signs the signature removal statement; (ii) the first business day that is at least 90 calendar days after the day on which the local clerk posts the voter's name under Subsection 20A-7-507(2); (iii) the last business day that is no more than 316 calendar days after the day on which the application is filed; or (iv) (A) for a county initiative, April 15 immediately before the next regular general election immediately after the application is filed under Section 20A-7-502; or (B) for a municipal initiative, April 15 immediately before the next municipal general election immediately after the application is filed under Section 20A-7-502. (d) A voter who signs a local referendum petition may have the voter's signature removed from the petition by, in accordance with Section 20A-1-1003, submitting to the county clerk a statement requesting that the voter's signature be removed no later than 5 p.m. the earlier of: (i) the first business day that is at least 30 calendar days after the day on which the voter signs the statement requesting removal; or (ii) the first business day that is at least 45 calendar days after the day on which the local clerk posts the voter's name under Subsection 20A-7-607(2)(a). (e) In order for the signature to be removed, the county clerk must receive the statement described in this Subsection (9) before 5 p.m. no later than the applicable deadline described in this Subsection (9). (f) A county clerk shall analyze a signature, for purposes of removing a signature from a petition, in accordance with Subsection 20A-1-1003(3). (10) (a) If the county clerk timely receives a statement requesting signature removal under Subsection (9) and determines that the signature should be removed from the petition under Subsection 20A-1-1003(3), the county clerk shall: (i) ensure that the voter's name, voter identification number, and date of signature are not included in the posting described in Subsection (6)(a)(ii)(B) or (iii)(B); and (ii) remove the voter's signature from the signature packets and signature packet totals. (b) The county clerk shall comply with Subsection (10)(a) before the later of: (i) the deadline described in Subsection (6)(a); or (ii) two business days after the day on which the county clerk receives a statement requesting signature removal under Subsection (9). (11) A person may not retrieve a packet from a county clerk, or make any alterations or corrections to a packet, after the packet is submitted to the county clerk. (12) A person may not use an email address provided by the signer of an initiative petition or a referendum petition for any purpose other than a purpose described in this chapter.
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