Section 303 - Form of referendum petition and signature sheets.

UT Code § 20A-7-303 (2019) (N/A)
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(1) (a) Each proposed referendum petition shall be printed in substantially the following form: "REFERENDUM PETITION To the Honorable ____, Lieutenant Governor: We, the undersigned citizens of Utah, respectfully order that Senate (or House) Bill No. ____, entitled (title of act, and, if the petition is against less than the whole act, set forth here the part or parts on which the referendum is sought), passed by the ____ Session of the Legislature of the state of Utah, be referred to the people of Utah for their approval or rejection at a regular general election or a statewide special election; Each signer says: I have personally signed this petition; I am registered to vote in Utah or intend to become registered to vote in Utah before the certification of the petition names by the county clerk; and My residence and post office address are written correctly after my name." (b) The sponsors of a referendum shall attach a copy of the law that is the subject of the referendum to each referendum petition.

(a) Each proposed referendum petition shall be printed in substantially the following form: "REFERENDUM PETITION To the Honorable ____, Lieutenant Governor: We, the undersigned citizens of Utah, respectfully order that Senate (or House) Bill No. ____, entitled (title of act, and, if the petition is against less than the whole act, set forth here the part or parts on which the referendum is sought), passed by the ____ Session of the Legislature of the state of Utah, be referred to the people of Utah for their approval or rejection at a regular general election or a statewide special election; Each signer says: I have personally signed this petition; I am registered to vote in Utah or intend to become registered to vote in Utah before the certification of the petition names by the county clerk; and My residence and post office address are written correctly after my name."

(b) The sponsors of a referendum shall attach a copy of the law that is the subject of the referendum to each referendum petition.

(2) Each signature sheet shall: (a) be printed on sheets of paper 8-1/2 inches long and 11 inches wide; (b) be ruled with a horizontal line three-fourths inch from the top, with the space above that line blank for the purpose of binding; (c) contain the title of the referendum printed below the horizontal line, in at least 14-point, bold type; (d) contain the word "Warning" printed or typed at the top of each signature sheet under the title of the referendum; (e) contain, to the right of the word "Warning," the following statement printed or typed in not less than eight-point, single-leaded type: "It is a class A misdemeanor for an individual to sign a referendum petition with any other name than the individual's own name, or knowingly to sign the individual's name more than once for the same measure, or to sign a referendum petition when the individual knows that the individual is not a registered voter and knows that the individual does not intend to become registered to vote before the certification of the petition names by the county clerk."; (f) contain horizontally ruled lines, three-eighths inch apart under the "Warning" statement required by this section; and (g) be vertically divided into columns as follows: (i) the edge of the first column shall appear .5 inch from the extreme left of the sheet, be.25 inch wide, and be headed, together with the second column, "For Office Use Only"; (ii) the second column shall be .25 inch wide; (iii) the third column shall be 2.5 inches wide, headed "Registered Voter's Printed Name (must be legible to be counted)"; (iv) the fourth column shall be 2.5 inches wide, headed "Signature of Registered Voter"; (v) the fifth column shall be .75 inch wide, headed "Date Signed"; (vi) the sixth column shall be three inches wide, headed "Street Address, City, Zip Code"; and (vii) the seventh column shall be .75 inch wide, headed"Birth Date or Age (Optional)"; (h) be horizontally divided into rows as follows: (i) the top of the first row, for the purpose of entering the information described in Subsection (2)(g), shall be .5 inch high; (ii) the second row shall be .15 inch high and contain the following statement printed or typed in not less than 12-point type: "By signing this petition, you are stating that you have read and understand the law this petition seeks to overturn."; and (iii) the first and second rows shall be repeated, in order, leaving sufficient room at the bottom of the sheet for the information described in Subsection (2)(i); and (i) at the bottom of the sheet, contain the following statement: "Birth date or age information is not required, but it may be used to verify your identity with voter registration records. If you choose not to provide it, your signature may not be verified as a valid signature if you change your address before petition signatures are verified or if the information you provide does not match your voter registration records."

(a) be printed on sheets of paper 8-1/2 inches long and 11 inches wide;

(b) be ruled with a horizontal line three-fourths inch from the top, with the space above that line blank for the purpose of binding;

(c) contain the title of the referendum printed below the horizontal line, in at least 14-point, bold type;

(d) contain the word "Warning" printed or typed at the top of each signature sheet under the title of the referendum;

(e) contain, to the right of the word "Warning," the following statement printed or typed in not less than eight-point, single-leaded type: "It is a class A misdemeanor for an individual to sign a referendum petition with any other name than the individual's own name, or knowingly to sign the individual's name more than once for the same measure, or to sign a referendum petition when the individual knows that the individual is not a registered voter and knows that the individual does not intend to become registered to vote before the certification of the petition names by the county clerk.";

(f) contain horizontally ruled lines, three-eighths inch apart under the "Warning" statement required by this section; and

(g) be vertically divided into columns as follows: (i) the edge of the first column shall appear .5 inch from the extreme left of the sheet, be.25 inch wide, and be headed, together with the second column, "For Office Use Only"; (ii) the second column shall be .25 inch wide; (iii) the third column shall be 2.5 inches wide, headed "Registered Voter's Printed Name (must be legible to be counted)"; (iv) the fourth column shall be 2.5 inches wide, headed "Signature of Registered Voter"; (v) the fifth column shall be .75 inch wide, headed "Date Signed"; (vi) the sixth column shall be three inches wide, headed "Street Address, City, Zip Code"; and (vii) the seventh column shall be .75 inch wide, headed"Birth Date or Age (Optional)";

(i) the edge of the first column shall appear .5 inch from the extreme left of the sheet, be.25 inch wide, and be headed, together with the second column, "For Office Use Only";

(ii) the second column shall be .25 inch wide;

(iii) the third column shall be 2.5 inches wide, headed "Registered Voter's Printed Name (must be legible to be counted)";

(iv) the fourth column shall be 2.5 inches wide, headed "Signature of Registered Voter";

(v) the fifth column shall be .75 inch wide, headed "Date Signed";

(vi) the sixth column shall be three inches wide, headed "Street Address, City, Zip Code"; and

(vii) the seventh column shall be .75 inch wide, headed"Birth Date or Age (Optional)";

(h) be horizontally divided into rows as follows: (i) the top of the first row, for the purpose of entering the information described in Subsection (2)(g), shall be .5 inch high; (ii) the second row shall be .15 inch high and contain the following statement printed or typed in not less than 12-point type: "By signing this petition, you are stating that you have read and understand the law this petition seeks to overturn."; and (iii) the first and second rows shall be repeated, in order, leaving sufficient room at the bottom of the sheet for the information described in Subsection (2)(i); and

(i) the top of the first row, for the purpose of entering the information described in Subsection (2)(g), shall be .5 inch high;

(ii) the second row shall be .15 inch high and contain the following statement printed or typed in not less than 12-point type: "By signing this petition, you are stating that you have read and understand the law this petition seeks to overturn."; and

(iii) the first and second rows shall be repeated, in order, leaving sufficient room at the bottom of the sheet for the information described in Subsection (2)(i); and

(i) at the bottom of the sheet, contain the following statement: "Birth date or age information is not required, but it may be used to verify your identity with voter registration records. If you choose not to provide it, your signature may not be verified as a valid signature if you change your address before petition signatures are verified or if the information you provide does not match your voter registration records."

(3) The final page of each referendum packet shall contain the following printed or typed statement: "Verification State of Utah, County of ____ I, _______________, of ____, hereby state, under penalty of perjury, that: I am a Utah resident and am at least 18 years old; All the names that appear in this packet were signed by individuals who professed to be the individuals whose names appear in it, and each of the individuals signed the individual's name on it in my presence; I believe that each individual has printed and signed the individual's name and written the individual's post office address and residence correctly, that each signer has read and understands the law that the referendum seeks to overturn, and that each signer is registered to vote in Utah or intends to become registered to vote before the certification of the petition names by the county clerk. Each individual who signed the packet wrote the correct date of signature next to the individual's name. I have not paid or given anything of value to any individual who signed this petition to encourage that individual to sign it.________________________________________________________________________(Name) (Residence Address) (Date)"

(4) If the forms described in this section are substantially followed, the referendum petitions are sufficient, notwithstanding clerical and merely technical errors.