H.B. 25: Candidate Petition Amendments

What the bill does

Did not pass both chambers; the bill was filed on March 6, 2026.

It would have required candidates who gather signatures to submit them to the clerk of each voter's own county, with clerks certifying only their county's residents and the lieutenant governor tallying multi-county totals, and would have changed the petition form to match. It never reached a floor vote: a House committee returned it to the Rules Committee, and it was filed on March 6, 2026.

This bill amends provisions related to candidate nomination petitions.

• Requires a candidate who seeks the nomination for an elective office by gathering signatures of registered voters to submit the signatures to the county clerk of each registered voter's residence
• Provides that a county clerk may only certify the signature of a registered voter described above if the registered voter is a resident of the county clerk's county
• For a signature gathering candidate who seeks the nomination for an office in a district where the officeholder is elected by the voters from more than one county, requires the county clerk of each county to which the candidate submits signatures to: count the number of valid signatures submitted by the candidate; and certify the number of valid signatures to the lieutenant govern
• For an elective office described above, requires the lieutenant governor to: count the total number of valid signatures received from each county clerk; and if the aggregate number of valid signatures is sufficient for the candidate to qualify for placement on the ballot, certify the signatures
• Amends the candidate nomination petition forms to specify that only a registered voter residing in the county where a candidate submits signatures for verification should sign the candidate's nomination petition
• For a candidate for elective office seeking the nomination of a qualified political party through signature-gathering, shortens the deadline for the candidate to submit signatures to an election official from 14 to 21 days before the day on which the party holds a convention to nominate a candidate for the same elective office
• Makes technical and conforming changes

The description and list come from the bill's own long title as recorded by the Legislature; the paragraph above is the Ledger’s summary. Read the official bill. The Ledger takes no position on it.

Subjects: Election Law · Government Operations (State Issues) · County Officers · Elected Official · Lieutenant Governor

How it moved

1. January 20, 2026 · House1st reading (Introduced)Rules Committee
2. January 23, 2026 · Houseto standing committeeGovernment Operations Committee
3. March 2, 2026 · HouseHouse Comm - Recommends Returned to RulesGovernment Operations Committee
4. March 6, 2026 · Housefiledfile for bills not passed

Steps as the Legislature recorded them; clerical and fiscal-staff entries are left out. Numbers such as 54-14-7 are yeas, nays and absent.

Fiscal note

From the Legislative Fiscal Analyst's note on 3rd Sub. H.B. 25 (Cherry), dated February 23, 2026. A fiscal note estimates direct costs and revenue; it is not an appropriation.

• State revenue: Enactment of this legislation likely will not materially impact state revenue.
• State expenditures: Enactment of this legislation could cost the Lt. Governor’s Office an estimated $11,200 one-time for rulemaking and an estimated $77,500 ongoing from the General Fund beginning in FY 2027 to reimburse counties for signature verification costs.
• Local government: Enactment of this legislation could cost local governments an estimated $155,000 every other year beginning in FY 2027 at $0.50 per verified signature, with the Lt. Governor required to reimburse counties for these costs.
• Individuals and businesses: Enactment of this legislation likely will not result in direct expenditures from tax or fee changes for Utah residents and businesses.

Bill overview

Sponsor: Lisa Shepherd

Senate floor sponsor: Daniel McCay

Legislature passed-list status: Not available in the saved metadata.

Passed-list membership is not a finding that a bill was signed or took effect. A bill absent from that list is not necessarily pending or defeated.

Latest recorded action

filed
Action date: March 6, 2026

The full step list is above. Find the bill in the official session list for status, hearings and committee records.

Recorded floor votes

No floor-vote records for this bill and session are available here. This does not mean no vote occurred; consult the official bill record.

Ledger coverage

No Ledger stories with an explicit source link to this bill and session are listed here.