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Article VII, Section 1
Article VII, Section 2
Article VII, Section 3
Article VII, Section 10
Article VII, Section 18
Article VII, Section 22
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Proposal to Amend Utah Constitution - Secretary of State
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Lisa Shepherd
Senate Sponsor: Brady Brammer
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This joint resolution of the Utah Legislature proposes to amend the Utah Constitution to
establish a Secretary of State.
Highlighted Provisions:
This resolution proposes to amend the Utah Constitution to:
create the constitutional office of the Secretary of State;
establish the qualifications, the term of office, and the duties of the Secretary of State;
provide for compensation of the Secretary of State;
provide the manner in which a vacancy in the office of Secretary of State is filled; and
make conforming changes.
Other Special Clauses:
This resolution directs the lieutenant governor to submit this proposal to voters.
This resolution provides a contingent effective date of
January 1, 2027
for this proposal.
Utah Constitution Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
Article VII, Section 1
Article VII, Section 2
Article VII, Section 3
Article VII, Section 10
Article VII, Section 18
ENACTS:
Article VII, Section 22
Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, two-thirds of all members elected to each
of the two houses voting in favor thereof:
Section 1. It is proposed to amend Utah Constitution, Article VII, Section 1 to read
Article VII, Section 1
. [Executive Department officers -- Terms, residence, and
duties.]
(1)
The elective constitutional officers of the Executive Department shall consist of
Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Auditor, State Treasurer,
and
Attorney General
,
and Secretary of State
.
(2)
Each officer shall:
(a)
hold office for
, except as provided in Subsection
(3)(b)
,
four years beginning on the
first Monday of January next after their election;
(b)
during their terms of office reside within the state; and
(c)
perform such duties as are prescribed by this Constitution and as provided by statute.
(3)
(a)
The election of the first Secretary of State after the adoption of Article VII,
Section 22, shall occur at the general election in 2028.
(b)
The term of the Secretary of State elected in 2028 is two years beginning on the first
Monday of January next after the election. Each subsequent term is four years
beginning on the first Monday of January next after the election.
Section 2. It is proposed to amend Utah Constitution, Article VII, Section 2 to read
Article VII, Section 2
. [Election of officers -- Governor and Lieutenant
Governor elected jointly.]
(1)
The officers provided for in
Article VII,
Section 1
shall be elected by the qualified
voters of the state at the time and place of voting for members of the Legislature. The
candidates respectively having the highest number of votes cast for the office voted for
shall be elected. If two or more candidates have an equal and the highest number of
votes for any one of the offices, the two houses of the Legislature at its next session shall
elect by joint ballot one of those candidates for that office.
(2)
In the election the names of the candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor for
each political party shall appear together on the ballot and the votes cast for a candidate
for Governor shall be considered as also cast for the candidate for Lieutenant Governor.
Section 3. It is proposed to amend Utah Constitution, Article VII, Section 3 to read
Article VII, Section 3
. [Qualifications of officers.]
(1)
To be eligible for the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor a person shall be 30
years of age or older at the time of election.
(2)
To be eligible for the office of Attorney General a person shall be 25 years of age or
older, at the time of election, admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the State
of Utah, and in good standing at the bar.
(3)
To be eligible for the office of State Auditor
,
or
State Treasurer
, or Secretary of State
a
person shall be 25 years of age or older at the time of election.
(4)
No person is eligible to any of the offices provided for in
Article VII,
Section 1 unless at
the time of election that person is a qualified voter and has been a resident citizen of the
state for five years next preceding the election.
Section 4. It is proposed to amend Utah Constitution, Article VII, Section 10 to read
Article VII, Section 10
. [Governor's appointive power -- Governor to appoint to
fill vacancy in other state offices -- Vacancy in the office of the Lieutenant Governor.]
(1)
(a)
The Governor shall nominate, and by and with consent of the Senate, appoint all
State and district officers whose offices are established by this Constitution, or which
may be created by law, and whose appointment or election is not otherwise provided
for.
(b)
If, during the recess of the Senate, a vacancy occurs in any State or district office, the
Governor shall appoint some qualified person to discharge the duties thereof until the
next meeting of the Senate, when the Governor shall nominate some person to fill
such office.
(2)
If the office of State Auditor, State Treasurer,
or
Attorney General
, or Secretary of
State
be vacated by death, resignation, or otherwise, it shall be the duty of the Governor
to fill the same by appointment, from the same political party as the removed person;
and the appointee shall hold office until a successor shall be elected and qualified, as
provided by law.
(3)
(a)
A vacancy in the office of Lieutenant Governor occurs when:
(i)
the Lieutenant Governor dies, resigns, is removed from office following
impeachment, becomes Governor under Article VII, Section 11, ceases to reside
within the State, or is determined, as provided in Subsection
(3)(b)
, to have a
disability that renders the Lieutenant Governor unable to discharge the duties of
office for the remainder of the Lieutenant Governor's term of office; or
(ii)
the Lieutenant Governor-elect fails to take office because of the Lieutenant
Governor-elect's death, failure to qualify for office, or disability, determined as
provided in Subsection
(3)(b)
, that renders the Lieutenant Governor-elect unable
to discharge the duties of office for the Lieutenant Governor-elect's full term of
office.
(b)
(i)
Except when the disability of a Lieutenant Governor is determined under
Article VII, Section 11, Subsection (6)
because the Lieutenant Governor is acting
as Governor under
Article VII, Section 11, Subsection (5)
, the disability of a
Lieutenant Governor or Lieutenant Governor-elect shall be determined by a
written declaration stating that the Lieutenant Governor or Lieutenant
Governor-elect is unable to discharge the powers and duties of the office.
(ii)
The written declaration under Subsection
(3)(b)(i)
shall be transmitted to the
Supreme Court and shall be signed by:
(A)
the Governor; or
(B)
(I)
the Lieutenant Governor, if the Lieutenant Governor is the subject of the
declaration; or
(II)
the Lieutenant Governor-elect, if the Lieutenant Governor-elect is the
subject of the declaration.
(iii)
If the Lieutenant Governor or Lieutenant Governor-elect, as the case may be,
disputes a declaration transmitted by the Governor under Subsection
(3)(b)(i)
, the
Lieutenant Governor or Lieutenant Governor-elect may, within ten days after the
declaration is transmitted to the Supreme Court, file a petition requesting the
Supreme Court to determine whether a disability exists as stated in the Governor's
declaration.
(iv)
In determining whether a disability exists, the Supreme Court shall follow
procedures that the Court establishes, unless the Legislature by statute establishes
procedures for the Supreme Court to follow in determining whether a disability
exists.
(v)
A determination of disability under this Subsection
(3)(b)
is final and conclusive.
(c)
(i)
If a vacancy in the office of Lieutenant Governor occurs, the Governor shall,
with the consent of the Senate, appoint a person as Lieutenant Governor, to serve:
(A)
except as provided in Subsection
(3)(c)(i)(B)
, the remainder of the unexpired
term; or
(B)
until the first Monday in January of the year following the next regular general
election after the vacancy occurs, if an election is held for Governor and
Lieutenant Governor under
Article VII, Section 11, Subsection (4)
.
(ii)
The person appointed as Lieutenant Governor under Subsection
(3)(c)(i)
shall be
from the same political party as the Governor.
(iii)
Neither the President of the Senate nor the Speaker of the House of
Representatives may, while acting as Governor under
Article VII, Section 11,
Subsection (5)
, appoint a person as Lieutenant Governor to fill a vacancy in that
office.
Section 5. It is proposed to amend Utah Constitution, Article VII, Section 18 to read
Article VII, Section 18
. [Compensation of state and local officers.]
(1)
The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Auditor, State Treasurer, Attorney General,
Secretary of State,
and any other state officer as the Legislature may provide, shall
receive for their services a fixed and definite compensation as provided by law.
(2)
(a)
The compensation provided for in Subsection
(1)
shall be in full for all services
rendered by those officers in any official capacity or employment during their terms
of office.
(b)
An officer may not receive for the performance of any official duty any fee for
personal use, but all fees fixed by the Legislature for the performance by any of them
of any official duty shall be collected in advance and deposited with the appropriate
treasury.
(c)
The Legislature may provide for the payment of actual and necessary expenses of
those officers while traveling in the performance of official duties.
Section 6. It is proposed to enact Utah Constitution, Article VII, Section 22 to read:
Article VII, Section 22
. [Duties.]
The Secretary of State shall:
(1)
oversee and generally supervise, as provided by statute, all elections, and functions
relating to elections, in the state, except that the Legislature may, by statute, grant
authority relating to elections to another state official when the Secretary of State has a
conflict of interest in the exercise of that authority; and
(2)
perform other duties as may be provided by statute.
Section 7.
Submittal to voters.
The lieutenant governor is directed to submit this proposed amendment to the voters of
the state at the next regular general election in the manner provided by law.
Section 8.
Contingent effective date.
If the amendment proposed by this joint resolution is approved by a majority of those
voting on it at the next regular general election, the amendment shall take effect on January 1,
2027.
2-10-26 9:12 AM