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Tuesday, November 3, 2026

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Utah bill tracker

H.B. 27: Signature Verification Revisions

2026 General Session · Originating chamber: House

Saved official records and Ledger coverage. The outcome below is from the Legislature’s own step list.

What the bill does

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

It would have required election officials to post voters' names, precinct numbers and signing dates for candidate nomination petitions on the lieutenant governor's website for at least 90 days after an election and to email notice to the voters. It never reached a floor vote: a committee sent it back to the Rules Committee, and it was filed on March 6, 2026.

This bill amends provisions related to candidate nomination petitions.

  • Requires an election official to post the name, voter precinct number, and date of signature of a registered voter who signs a candidate nomination petition on the lieutenant governor's website for at least 90 days after the date of an election
  • Requires an election official to send an email notice to a registered voter described above informing the voter that: the voter's name and voter-related information is posted on the lieutenant governor's website; and the voter may request to have the voter's signature removed from the candidate nomination petition by submitting a written statement to the election official requesting removal of the signature
  • Requires an election official to make the website posting described above regardless of whether the voter's voter registration record is classified as a private record
  • Amends candidate nomination petition forms to include information notifying a voter of the posting and signature removal processes described above
  • For a candidate seeking the nomination of a qualified political party to an elective office 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 qualified political 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: Voting and Voter Registration · Government Operations (State Issues) · Election Administration · Lieutenant Governor · Elected Official

How it moved

  1. · House1st reading (Introduced)Rules Committee
  2. · Houseto standing committeeGovernment Operations Committee
  3. · HouseHouse Comm - Recommends Returned to RulesGovernment Operations Committee
  4. · 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 1st Sub. H.B. 27 (Buff), dated January 21, 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 $51,500 one-time in FY 2026 and $20,000 ongoing in FY 2027 from the General Fund for programming and staffing needs.
  • Local government: Enactment of this legislation likely will not result in direct, measurable costs for local governments.
  • 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: Heidi Balderree

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:

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.