House lawmakers pass bill to cut short Utah’s ranked choice voting pilot

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Lawmakers in the Utah House voted Thursday to cut short the state’s pilot project allowing cities to try ranked choice voting.

The legislature’s lower chamber voted 43-26 to pass House Bill 290, which would end the pilot project approved by lawmakers in 2018. Initially, the experiment was set to run through Jan. 1, 2026, but this new bill would end the ranked choice voting pilot before the next round of municipal elections.

Ranked choice voting pilot program could be cut short

Rep. Katy Hall (R-South Ogden), who is running the bill, cited low city participation and voter confusion as reasons to cut short the project, which was billed as a way to improve voter confidence and lower election costs for cities.

“In the six years it’s been in place, it doesn’t appear to be having these intended consequences broadly,” she said on the House floor.

Hall argued that election uniformity across the state was important to maintain the trust of voters, run efficient elections and guarantee equal access to the ballot.

One of those who spoke against the bill was Rep. Jeffrey Stenquist (R-Draper). He said that if only a few cities opt to continue participating in the project, why not let them for one more election.

“If you’re concerned about ranked choice voting and your city is not conducting them, then this bill is completely unnecessary,” he said.

Unlike traditional voting, ranked choice voting allows voters to rank candidates in terms of preference on their ballot, instead of choosing just one.

If no candidate gets a majority on the first round, then the tabulation process begins, with the lowest vote-getting candidate being eliminated in each round until someone gets a majority.

Last year, 12 cities in Utah opted to have ranked choice elections. Among these were some of the largest communities on the Wasatch Front, such as Salt Lake City, Kearns and Magna.

The nonprofit Utah Ranked Choice Voting says the ranked choice process allows voters the ability to vote for their favorite candidates without having to strategize between the only two candidates considered viable.

Kelleen Potter, the group’s executive director, told ABC4 that HB290 is misguided.

“I understand there is some confusing information out there, but I do believe it is important to defeat this bill and allow the pilot program to play out one more year so the legislature can get all the data together, take some time during interim and see if the benefits outweigh the costs and confusion of a new voting system,” she said.

Speaking in the House Government Operations Committee earlier this month, Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson said he supported the effort to end the pilot project early.

Davidson said that in Lehi’s most recent ranked choice election voter turnout was down 10% when compared to the previous election. He said voters were still confused by the process and didn’t know what to do with the different ballot.

On the other hand, Millcreek Mayor Jeff Silvestrini told the same committee that his city has used ranked choice voting in its last two elections. He said that residents responded to surveys saying they liked it, and added that the process saved them roughly $90,000, because they didn’t have to hold primaries.

House Bill 290 is now on its way to a Senate committee. It would need to pass the upper chamber and have any changes approved by the House before it could head to Gov. Spencer Cox’s desk.

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