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Utah House approves bill to clear path for municipal ranked‑choice voting pilot
Summary
The House passed a bill to extend and clarify a municipal ranked‑choice voting pilot, directing that municipal legislative bodies — not mayors — decide whether to participate and addressing disputes with county clerks; the measure passed 46–25.
The Utah House of Representatives on Feb. 12 passed First Substitute House Bill 75, which sponsors say will remove administrative roadblocks to a municipal pilot allowing ranked‑choice voting. Representative Stenquist, the bill sponsor, told colleagues the measure "is about just making some cleanups" to an existing pilot and would "extend the deadline" and clarify that the municipality's legislative body decides whether to take part.
Supporters argued the change is practical and necessary to let interested cities participate. "We have municipalities that want to participate," Representative Stenquist said, adding that counties have the equipment to run one of these elections and that counties "can conduct 1 of these" types of contests. Representative Winder noted past successful municipal pilots in Vineyard and Payson and urged support so more cities can opt in this municipal election year.
Opponents raised concerns about imposing duties on county clerks and the cost and complexity of running a different voting method for limited jurisdictions. Representative Nelson said county clerks "can provide the service, but they should not be required to provide it," calling the proposal an unfunded mandate. Representative Snyder echoed the concern that the state should not force counties to administer elections in a way "they don't want to do" and warned about piecemeal approaches to election administration.
The bill also clarifies technical and contracting provisions in the pilot: sponsor testimony noted that nearly all counties use an elections system referred to on the floor as "ESNS" and that tabulation software upgrades and county‑level capacity make one municipal ranked‑choice election administrable. Questions from members about equipment and whether cities could contract with other counties or private vendors were answered in the affirmative only for limited pilot exceptions.
After debate, the House approved the bill 46 yeas to 25 nays. The bill will be transmitted to the Senate for further consideration.
