HB0311 • 2026

Elections Study

Elections

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Rep. Burton, Jefferson S.
Last action: 2026-03-23
Official status: Governor Signed
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

Elections Study

This bill directs the Gary R.

What This Bill Does

This bill directs the Gary R.
Herbert Institute for Public Policy at Utah Valley University and the Center for Constitutional Studies at Utah Valley University to conduct an elections study.

Limits and Unknowns

This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

2026-03-23 Lieutenant Governor's office for filing
Governor Signed
2026-03-12 Clerk of the House
House/ received enrolled bill from Printing
2026-03-12 Executive Branch - Governor
House/ to Governor
2026-03-11 Clerk of the House
Enrolled Bill Returned to House or Senate
2026-03-11 Clerk of the House
House/ enrolled bill to Printing
2026-03-06 Legislative Research and General Counsel / Enrolling
Bill Received from House for Enrolling
2026-03-06 Legislative Research and General Counsel / Enrolling
Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared
2026-03-06 Senate President
House/ concurs with Senate amendment
2026-03-06 House Speaker
House/ received from Senate
2026-03-06 Legislative Research and General Counsel / Enrolling
House/ signed by Speaker/ sent for enrolling
2026-03-06 Senate President
House/ to Senate
2026-03-06 Senate President
Senate/ received from House
2026-03-06 House Speaker
Senate/ signed by President/ returned to House
2026-03-06 House Speaker
Senate/ to House
2026-03-05 House Concurrence Calendar
House/ placed on Concurrence Calendar
2026-03-05 Clerk of the House
House/ received from Senate
2026-03-05 Legislative Fiscal Analyst
LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0311S02
2026-03-05 Legislative Fiscal Agency
LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0311S02
2026-03-05 Released
LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0311S01
2026-03-05 Released
LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0311S02
2026-03-05 Version Sponsor
LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0311S02
2026-03-05 Senate 2nd Reading Calendar
Senate/ 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
2026-03-05 Senate 2nd Reading Calendar
Senate/ Rules to 2nd Reading Calendar
2026-03-05 Senate 2nd Reading Calendar
Senate/ circled
2026-03-05 Clerk of the House
Senate/ passed 2nd & 3rd readings/ suspension
2026-03-05 Senate 2nd Reading Calendar
Senate/ substituted
2026-03-05 Clerk of the House
Senate/ to House with amendments
2026-03-05 Senate 2nd Reading Calendar
Senate/ uncircled
2026-03-04 Senate Secretary
House/ to Senate
2026-03-04 Legislative Fiscal Analyst
LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0311S01
2026-03-04 Legislative Fiscal Agency
LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0311S01
2026-03-04 Version Sponsor
LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0311S01
2026-03-04 Senate Rules Committee
Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)
2026-03-04 Waiting for Introduction in the Senate
Senate/ received from House
2026-02-09 House 3rd Reading Calendar for House bills
House/ 3rd reading
2026-02-09 House Docket Clerk
House/ held
2026-02-09 Senate Secretary
House/ passed 3rd reading
2026-01-30 House 3rd Reading Calendar for House bills
House/ 2nd reading
2026-01-30 House Government Operations Committee
House/ committee report favorable
2026-01-29 House Government Operations Committee
House Comm - Favorable Recommendation
2026-01-27 House Government Operations Committee
House/ to standing committee
2026-01-26 House Rules Committee
House/ received fiscal note from Fiscal Analyst
2026-01-25 Released
LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for HB0311
2026-01-25 Version Sponsor
LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for HB0311
2026-01-22 House Rules Committee
House/ 1st reading (Introduced)
2026-01-22 Clerk of the House
House/ received bill from Legislative Research
2026-01-21 Legislative Research and General Counsel
Bill Numbered but not Distributed
2026-01-21 Legislative Fiscal Analyst
LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for HB0311
2026-01-21 Legislative Fiscal Agency
LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for HB0311
2026-01-21 Legislative Research and General Counsel
Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed

Official Summary Text

This bill directs the Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy at Utah Valley University and the Center for Constitutional Studies at Utah Valley University to conduct an elections study.

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

3
53H-4-708
0
Elections Study
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Jefferson S. Burton
Senate Sponsor: Michael K. McKell
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill directs the Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy at Utah Valley University
and the Center for Constitutional Studies at Utah Valley University to conduct an elections
study.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
directs the Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy at Utah Valley University (the
institute) and the Center for Constitutional Studies at Utah Valley University (the center)
to conduct an elections study regarding:
the security of in-person voting versus voting by mail; and
best practices for conducting and implementing a process where identification must be
presented before depositing a ballot in a ballot drop box; and
directs the institute and the center to present the study to the Government Operations
Interim Committee.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
ENACTS:
53H-4-708
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
53H-4-708
is enacted to read:
53H-4-708
. Election study.
(1)
The institute and the center shall conduct a study to determine:
(a)
the security risks of in-person voting versus voting by mail; and
(b)
the best practices for conducting and implementing a process where identification is
presented and checked at a ballot drop box before a voter may deposit a ballot in the
ballot drop box.
(2)
The portion of the study described in Subsection
(1)(a)
shall include:
(a)
a comparison between Utah and states that don't use voting by mail as the primary
means of voting;
(b)
an analysis of potential and actual fraud in Utah, and in comparison to other states;
(c)
an analysis of the accuracy or inaccuracy of voter rolls using a vote by mail system
versus in-person voting; and
(d)
an analysis of related issues raised in 2024-20, A Performance Audit of Utah's
Election System: Strengthening Election Integrity.
(3)
The portion of the study described in Subsection
(1)(b)
shall include information,
analysis, and recommendations regarding:
(a)
logistics;
(b)
wait times;
(c)
costs; and
(d)
ballot processing.
(4)
The institute and the center shall present the results of the study described in this section
to the Government Operations Interim Committee at or before the October 2026 interim
meeting.
Section 2.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
3-11-26 4:04 PM