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Senate narrows bill to ban misuse of voting information to focus on ballot data
Summary
Third substitute House Bill 69 was adopted and read for third, with sponsors narrowing the scope to prohibit misuse of ballot information (who a person voted for) rather than broader government information.
Salt Lake City — Senators on Feb. 13 adopted a third substitute to House Bill 69, narrowing its scope to prohibit public officials from using specific ballot information — for example, how an individual voted — for purposes outside official duties.
Floor manager Senator Brammer described concerns that an earlier draft was too broad because it could have covered all government information. The third substitute limits the prohibition to ballot information about how a particular citizen voted. Senator Musselman described the substitute as “friendly” and said it reflected the bill’s original intent.
Why it matters: The change restricts the bill’s reach to a narrow class of election‑related information rather than general government records. That carries implications for election privacy and the permissible uses of certain data by government employees.
Details and vote: The Senate adopted the third substitute and the bill was read for the third time; the recorded third‑reading tally was 27 yeas, 0 nays, 2 absent.
Ending: With the narrowly scoped substitute in place, the bill cleared the Senate and will proceed in the legislative process.
