20A-9-201 - Declarations of candidacy -- Candidacy for more than one office or of more than one political party prohibited with exceptions -- General filing and form requirements -- Affidavit of impec
20A-9-201. Declarations of candidacy -- Candidacy for more than one office or ofmore than one political party prohibited with exceptions -- General filing and formrequirements -- Affidavit of impecuniosity.
(1) Before filing a declaration of candidacy for election to any office, a person shall:
(a) be a United States citizen; and
(b) meet the legal requirements of that office.
(2) (a) Except as provided in Subsection (2)(b), a person may not:
(i) file a declaration of candidacy for, or be a candidate for, more than one office in Utahduring any election year; or
(ii) appear on the ballot as the candidate of more than one political party.
(b) A person may file a declaration of candidacy for, or be a candidate for, President orVice President of the United States and another office, if the person resigns the person'scandidacy for the other office after the person is officially nominated for President or VicePresident of the United States.
(3) (a) (i) Except for presidential candidates, before the filing officer may accept anydeclaration of candidacy, the filing officer shall:
(A) read to the prospective candidate the constitutional and statutory qualificationrequirements for the office that the candidate is seeking; and
(B) require the candidate to state whether or not the candidate meets those requirements.
(ii) Before accepting a declaration of candidacy for the office of county attorney, thecounty clerk shall ensure that the person filing that declaration of candidacy is:
(A) a United States citizen;
(B) an attorney licensed to practice law in Utah who is an active member in goodstanding of the Utah State Bar;
(C) a registered voter in the county in which he is seeking office; and
(D) a current resident of the county in which he is seeking office and either has been aresident of that county for at least one year or was appointed and is currently serving as countyattorney and became a resident of the county within 30 days after appointment to the office.
(iii) Before accepting a declaration of candidacy for the office of district attorney, thecounty clerk shall ensure that, as of the date of the election, the person filing that declaration ofcandidacy is:
(A) a United States citizen;
(B) an attorney licensed to practice law in Utah who is an active member in goodstanding of the Utah State Bar;
(C) a registered voter in the prosecution district in which he is seeking office; and
(D) a current resident of the prosecution district in which he is seeking office and eitherwill have been a resident of that prosecution district for at least one year as of the date of theelection or was appointed and is currently serving as district attorney and became a resident ofthe prosecution district within 30 days after receiving appointment to the office.
(iv) Before accepting a declaration of candidacy for the office of county sheriff, thecounty clerk shall ensure that the person filing the declaration of candidacy:
(A) as of the date of filing:
(I) is a United States citizen;
(II) is a registered voter in the county in which the person seeks office;
(III) (Aa) has successfully met the standards and training requirements established for
law enforcement officers under Title 53, Chapter 6, Part 2, Peace Officer Training andCertification Act; or
(Bb) has passed a certification examination as provided in Section 53-6-206; and
(IV) is qualified to be certified as a law enforcement officer, as defined in Section53-13-103; and
(B) as of the date of the election, shall have been a resident of the county in which theperson seeks office for at least one year.
(v) Before accepting a declaration of candidacy for the office of governor, lieutenantgovernor, state auditor, state treasurer, attorney general, state legislator, or State Board ofEducation member, the filing officer shall ensure:
(A) that the person filing the declaration of candidacy also files the financial disclosurerequired by Section 20A-11-1603; and
(B) if the filing officer is not the lieutenant governor, that the financial disclosure isprovided to the lieutenant governor according to the procedures and requirements of Section20A-11-1603.
(b) If the prospective candidate states that he does not meet the qualificationrequirements for the office, the filing officer may not accept the prospective candidate'sdeclaration of candidacy.
(c) If the candidate meets the requirements of Subsection (3)(a) and states that he meetsthe requirements of candidacy, the filing officer shall:
(i) inform the candidate that:
(A) the candidate's name will appear on the ballot as it is written on the declaration ofcandidacy;
(B) the candidate may be required to comply with state or local campaign financedisclosure laws; and
(C) the candidate is required to file a financial statement before the candidate's politicalconvention under:
(I) Section 20A-11-204 for a candidate for constitutional office;
(II) Section 20A-11-303 for a candidate for the Legislature; or
(III) local campaign finance disclosure laws, if applicable;
(ii) provide the candidate with a copy of the current campaign financial disclosure lawsfor the office the candidate is seeking and inform the candidate that failure to comply will resultin disqualification as a candidate and removal of the candidate's name from the ballot;
(iii) provide the candidate with a copy of Section 20A-7-801 regarding the StatewideElectronic Voter Information Website Program and inform the candidate of the submissiondeadline under Subsection 20A-7-801(4)(a);
(iv) provide the candidate with a copy of the pledge of fair campaign practices describedunder Section 20A-9-206 and inform the candidate that:
(A) signing the pledge is voluntary; and
(B) signed pledges shall be filed with the filing officer;
(v) accept the candidate's declaration of candidacy; and
(vi) if the candidate has filed for a partisan office, provide a certified copy of thedeclaration of candidacy to the chair of the county or state political party of which the candidateis a member.
(d) If the candidate elects to sign the pledge of fair campaign practices, the filing officer
shall:
(i) accept the candidate's pledge; and
(ii) if the candidate has filed for a partisan office, provide a certified copy of thecandidate's pledge to the chair of the county or state political party of which the candidate is amember.
(4) Except for presidential candidates, the form of the declaration of candidacy shall besubstantially as follows:
"State of Utah, County of ____
I, ______________, declare my intention of becoming a candidate for the office of ____as a candidate for the ____ party. I do solemnly swear that: I will meet the qualifications to holdthe office, both legally and constitutionally, if selected; I reside at _____________ in the City orTown of ____, Utah, Zip Code ____ Phone No. ____; I will not knowingly violate any lawgoverning campaigns and elections; I will file all campaign financial disclosure reports asrequired by law; and I understand that failure to do so will result in my disqualification as acandidate for this office and removal of my name from the ballot. The mailing address that Idesignate for receiving official election notices is ___________________________.
____________________________________________________________________
Subscribed and sworn before me this __________(monthdayyear).
(5) (a) Except for presidential candidates, the fee for filing a declaration of candidacy is:
(i) $25 for candidates for the local school district board; and
(ii) 1/8 of 1% of the total salary for the full term of office legally paid to the personholding the office, but not less than $5, for all other federal, state, and county offices.
(b) Except for presidential candidates, the filing officer shall refund the filing fee to anycandidate:
(i) who is disqualified; or
(ii) who the filing officer determines has filed improperly.
(c) (i) The county clerk shall immediately pay to the county treasurer all fees receivedfrom candidates.
(ii) The lieutenant governor shall:
(A) apportion to and pay to the county treasurers of the various counties all fees receivedfor filing of nomination certificates or acceptances; and
(B) ensure that each county receives that proportion of the total amount paid to thelieutenant governor from the congressional district that the total vote of that county for allcandidates for representative in Congress bears to the total vote of all counties within thecongressional district for all candidates for representative in Congress.
(d) (i) A person who is unable to pay the filing fee may file a declaration of candidacywithout payment of the filing fee upon a prima facie showing of impecuniosity as evidenced byan affidavit of impecuniosity filed with the filing officer and, if requested by the filing officer, afinancial statement filed at the time the affidavit is submitted.
(ii) A person who is able to pay the filing fee may not claim impecuniosity.
(iii) (A) False statements made on an affidavit of impecuniosity or a financial statementfiled under this section shall be subject to the criminal penalties provided under Sections76-8-503 and 76-8-504 and any other applicable criminal provision.
(B) Conviction of a criminal offense under Subsection (5)(d)(iii)(A) shall be considered
an offense under this title for the purposes of assessing the penalties provided in Subsection20A-1-609(2).
(iv) The filing officer shall ensure that the affidavit of impecuniosity is printed insubstantially the following form:
"Affidavit of Impecuniosity
Individual Name ____________________________Address_____________________________
Phone Number _________________
I,__________________________(name), do solemnly [swear] [affirm], under penalty of law forfalse statements, that, owing to my poverty, I am unable to pay the filing fee required by law.
Date ______________ Signature________________________________________________Affiant
Subscribed and sworn to before me on ___________ (monthdayyear)
Name and Title of Officer Authorized to Administer Oath
(v) The filing officer shall provide to a person who requests an affidavit of impecuniositya statement printed in substantially the following form, which may be included on the affidavit ofimpecuniosity:
"Filing a false statement is a criminal offense. In accordance with Section 20A-1-609, acandidate who is found guilty of filing a false statement, in addition to being subject to criminalpenalties, will be removed from the ballot."
(vi) The filing officer may request that a person who makes a claim of impecuniosityunder this Subsection (5)(d) file a financial statement on a form prepared by the election official.
(6) Any person who fails to file a declaration of candidacy or certificate of nominationwithin the time provided in this chapter is ineligible for nomination to office.
(7) A declaration of candidacy filed under this section may not be amended or modifiedafter the final date established for filing a declaration of candidacy.
Amended by Chapter 12, 2010 General Session