On February 5, U.S. District Court Judge David Nuffer issued an order in Utah Republican Party v Cox, 2:16cv-38. The order says it appears that the number of signatures needed for candidates to get on a primary ballot are so high they are unconstitutional. The order also suggests it is unconstitutional to require that voters can only sign for one candidate for the same office.
The order says, “It seems that if the law provides a path to the ballot, that path should be free of constitutional infirmity.” This is because the state had argued that it doesn’t matter if the petitions are too difficult; that a candidate who has support at a party caucus doesn’t need any petition at all. The judge rejects that argument.
Utah candidates who try to get on the primary ballot with signatures need 28,000 for statewide office, 7,000 for U.S. House, 2,000 for State Senate, and 1,000 for State House. The judge says when one calculates the petition burden as a percentage of the eligible voters, the percentages are far too high to be constitutional (only registered party members can sign). In one extreme example, a candidate for State House would need signatures from 57% of the eligible signers. The order is not final and the judge has asked if either side has any additional arguments or citations to submit.
Already, the legislature has responded. On Sunday, March 6, Representative Kraig Powell (R-Heber City) introduced HB 481, to lower the primary petitions to 2% of the eligible signers, and to permit voters to sign for more than one candidate for the same nomination.