Senate clarifies initiative petition verification rules allowing birth‑date as a backup match

The Utah Senate advanced Senate Bill 11 on Jan. 19, a measure intended to reduce signature‑verification disputes in the initiative petition process by formally authorizing additional validation methods. The bill, sponsored by Senator Beverly Evans, was read for the third time by roll call and recorded as passing 27–0.

Senator Evans said the bill came from the elections office and is meant to provide county clerks tools to validate signatures that might otherwise be rejected for minor spelling differences or inconsistent addresses. As Evans explained, when a name and address cannot be matched but a birth date on the petition matches the birth date on the official register, the clerk may validate a signature using that birth date as a backup.

Senator May questioned whether the change would make it harder or easier for citizens to qualify initiatives for the ballot; Evans and other supporters said the bill eases the verification burden and reduces the likelihood of legitimate signatures being discarded. Senator Stevenson described how the prior statutory change (moving to 29 senate districts) exposed narrow qualification problems in some districts and said additional validation would have avoided litigation and confusion.

Evans and others emphasized that SB11 does not require petitioners to provide birth dates; rather, birth dates are an optional method that can help clerks verify legitimate signatures. The floor debate did not include a fiscal note on implementation costs; the measure was advanced and will proceed to the House.