Elections – just like sports – depend on fair rules and an accurate public perception that both the rules and the referees are trustworthy. Utah’s election officials – the “referees” of our elections – are effective, hard-working, and motivated by a desire to protect the institution of voting against malign influence. But at a time when public confidence in elections is under threat across the country, Utah can help lead the nation in further establishing the trustworthiness of elections by passing S.B. 194 Election Modifications, recently introduced by State Senator Mike McKell.
The bill has two major components: 1) reducing conflicts of interest for the lieutenant governor within the role of chief elections officer; and 2) strengthening neutrality requirements for county clerks. These common-sense reforms will help ensure that those who run elections are perceived as, and continue to be, the neutral referees that they are.
Let’s elaborate on each of these reforms. First, S.B. 194 asks Utah’s chief elections officer, the lieutenant governor, to create a written plan for avoiding potential conflicts of interest when running for office. Importantly, the bill does not mandate blanket recusal or paralyze the office. Instead, it formalizes in law the practical steps that recent officeholders have taken voluntarily: Identify potential conflicts in advance and explain how they will be managed.
Why does this matter? In today’s media environment, even the appearance of a conflict of interest can erode trust. By requiring a transparent plan, S.B. 194 reassures voters that election decisions will be made according to the rules, consistently, and in the open, rather than according to personal considerations.
This reform is valuable in large part because America’s approach of selecting election officials through partisan elections is not used by any other democracy, and it can create problems. For example, twelve secretaries of state over the last 25 years publicly served as honorary campaign chairs for a presidential campaign in their state. That list includes Florida’s former Secretary of State Kathleen Harris, who struggled to gain the trust that she could impartially manage the razor-thin-margin recount in the 2000 Bush-Gore election.
The second reform in the bill reinforces high ethical standards for county clerks. Utah’s clerks already conduct themselves with professionalism and restraint. S.B. 194 puts best practice into law by limiting overt partisan activity, like issuing official endorsements or fundraising for candidates whose elections they oversee. In addition to reducing voter concerns about partisan favoritism, the bill protects clerks from inherent pressures they face when party allies ask for endorsements or political help. The bill also requires that a county clerk who is running for office delegate to another clerk the responsibility of approving ballot application signatures of a potential opponent.
A further step the legislature could tackle next session is to reduce the hurdles for candidates running for county clerk. Under current law, candidates make the primary ballot if they are nominated at the party convention or if they gather signatures from 3% of eligible party voters. That threshold is one of the highest in the nation. In large counties, aspiring candidates need many thousands of signatures, costing them tens of thousands of dollars even before the campaign has started.
Utah’s neighbors are far less restrictive: Arizona requires 0.25% of registered voters by party, South Dakota the lesser of 1% or 50 signatures, and New Mexico just 20 signatures.
Voters should be assured that anyone who is capable and feels a civic duty to safeguard our republic can run to oversee elections, not just those who can raise money or have insider connections.
None of these changes advantage one party over another. In fact, that’s the point.
Trust in elections is not a partisan project. Utahns of every political persuasion benefit when voters know the system is fair and neutral. S.B. 194 helps public perception of Utah election officials’ trustworthiness match reality by writing the rulebook more clearly, strengthening oversight, and sending the message that the people who run elections are neutral stewards of the process.
At a time when faith in institutions is fragile, Utah has an opportunity to lead. We urge all Utah lawmakers to support S.B. 194 and send a clear message: In this state, integrity comes first.
Derek Monson is executive director of Sutherland Institute, and Kevin Johnson is co-founder and executive director of Election Reformers Network.
