H.B. 460: Candidate Nomination Procedures Amendments

What the bill does

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

This bill amends provisions relating to nominating candidates for elective office and placing candidates on a ballot.

• Defines terms
• Repeals provisions relating to a qualified political party
• Establishes two types of registered political parties: a primary nominating party that nominates candidates through signature-gathering only, participates in the regular primary election, and has the name of the primary nominating party listed on the regular general election ballot in association with the party's candidates; and a convention nominating party that nominates candidates using a method that does not involve the signature-gathering process described in the preceding paragraph or participation in the regular primary election, and whose candidates are listed on the regular general election ballot without an indication of the convention nominating party that nominated the candidates
• Requires a registered political party to choose whether to be a primary nominating party or a convention nominating party
• Modifies signature-gathering thresholds
• Makes technical and conforming changes

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

Subjects: Election Law · Government Operations (State Issues) · Election Administration · Political Parties

How it moved

1. February 3, 2026 · House1st reading (Introduced)Rules Committee
2. 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 H.B. 460, dated February 5, 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 requires a political party to choose a convention-only or primary-only nomination method, which may result in cost savings or increased costs to the state. Signature verification costs average approximately $0.50 per signature; costs may decrease under a convention-only method or increase under a primary-only method based on candidate participation and the number of signatures submitted.
• Local government: Enactment of this legislation requires a political party to choose a convention-only or primary-only nomination method, which may result in cost savings or increased costs to the local governments. Signature verification costs average approximately $0.
• 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: Andrew Stoddard

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.