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Committee advances bill to let candidates collect nomination signatures through secure online portal
Summary
HB2805, amended to require portal users to indicate party alignment for portal functions, was returned with a do-pass recommendation after members discussed impacts on school board and other local races and asked for implementation language with the Secretary of State.
The committee advanced HB2805 on Feb. 9 with an amendment that sets technical rules for a secure online portal to collect nomination petition signatures for local governing boards.
Staff said the portal would allow qualified electors to sign nomination petitions electronically and require candidates who use the portal to designate a political-party alignment within the system; the Gillette amendment, adopted in committee, strengthens prohibitions on the Secretary of State’s authority in portal administration.
Sponsor and supporters argued the measure recognizes that many local races function as partisan contests and would expand equal online access for candidates while preserving existing paper petitioning options. The sponsor told members the goal is to allow candidates to “use all the features and functions of the Secretary of State signature system” while safeguarding nonpartisan processes where appropriate.
Members expressed concern about how the portal would interact with school board and judicial petitioning processes and asked the sponsor to work with the Secretary of State’s office to refine implementation language. The committee returned the bill as amended with a do-pass recommendation, announced as a 5–2 vote.
