SALT LAKE CITY — A bill introduced in the Utah State Legislature with the support of House Republican leadership would change Utah's vote-by-mail system.
Eligible voters would still receive a ballot in the mail. However, House Bill 479 would require most voters to return it in-person and show ID.
"The majority of the public has said what they like about vote-by-mail is they get that in their mailbox and they can sit around the kitchen table and talk about it for a few days. What they didn’t like, and the statistics showed very clearly is, for obvious reasons, they didn’t trust the post office," said Rep. Jefferson Burton, R-Salem.
The bill would force counties to staff dropboxes so someone could check ID. There are exceptions for people who are disabled or unable to drop their ballot off in person.
It is the latest version of a bill that was proposed last year to a lot of controversy before it was amended down to what is the current system.
"I view it as just a different option of the vote-by-mail," said House Speaker Mike Schultz. "It takes what people like the most and couples with what we’re hearing people want is security. Showing ID."
But voter rights groups argue it could end vote-by-mail as we know it. Nat Williams, the democracy policy director for Stewardship Utah, said it could create significant hurdles for a lot of Utahns.
"Working families, disabled people, elderly folk ,they need every option available to them," Williams said. "But if we’re forcing people to be at the dropboxes to show voter ID? One that’s also another barrier to remind them to bring their OD to the polling place or dropbox or it would limit it to certain hours when the dropbox is actually staffed."
Vote-by-mail is popular in Utah. Public polling shows Utahns overwhelmingly favor it in contrast to a national climate where vote-by-mail has been criticized by President Trump.
On Tuesday, Senate leadership raised concerns about the cost of the bill (it carries a $10 million price tag).
"Just the staffing, what it means for our clerk's office to run that level of intense staffing, it’s expensive," said Senate Minority Leader Luz Escamilla, D-Salt Lake City.
The Senate GOP majority said it would discuss the bill but expressed some concerns.
"We want high voter turnout, we want it easy for people to be able to vote but we want secure elections," said Senate President J. Stuart Adams, R-Layton.
The bill is expected to begin moving quickly through Utah's Capitol Hill in the remaining weeks of the 2026 state legislature.
"We understand this is going to be a little bit more labor intensive," Rep. Burton said of costs to counties. "That’s why we’re meeting with them, going through the numbers."
