Utah is set to stop automatically mailing ballots to all voters under a bill that was sent to the state’s Republican governor as the 2025 legislative session concluded on Friday.
The Republican-majority Legislature passed a proposal requiring voters to opt in if they want to receive their ballots by mail. Additionally, voters who choose to return their ballots by mail or to a drop box would be required to include the last four digits of their driver’s license, state ID, or Social Security number on the return envelope. Starting in 2029, those voting in person would also need to show a valid ID.
If Gov. Spencer Cox signs the bill into law, Utah will join a list of eight states— all led by Democrats— that conduct all elections by mail without requiring voters to opt in.
“I’m very supportive of it. I think it’s a brilliant bill,” Cox said to reporters Friday night. “Lots of people wrongly believe that we have mass fraud in our elections, and it’s just not true, but we need to restore trust to them as well.”
The governor has consistently expressed confidence in Utah’s election security but has also stated that he supports reforms to speed up the vote counting process. Cox explained that when it takes weeks to count ballots, it causes voters to lose trust in the election process, giving room for malicious actors to spread false claims of wrongdoing.
Currently, ballots postmarked by the day before Election Day can be counted within the following two weeks. The new proposal, which is awaiting Governor Cox’s approval, would change this by requiring all ballots to be received by county clerks by 8 p.m. on Election Day.
Lawmakers cited recent legislative audits to support their arguments for and against the bill. While the audits found no evidence of widespread fraud in Utah’s elections, they did highlight delays in removing deceased individuals from voter rolls. Democrats argued that the changes were unnecessary and would make voting more difficult, while many Republicans contended that the issues with voter rolls showed the need for stronger security measures.
“We have strong confidence in mail-in voting,” said Sen. Mike McKell, one of the leading Republicans in the chamber. “But we also have security concerns, and what we’re trying to achieve with this bill is finding a balance between enhancing security and making voting easier.”
Five Republicans joined all Democrats in opposing the bill, which passed with veto-proof margins in the House and was one vote short of a veto-proof majority in the Senate. If Governor Cox rejects the bill—though this seems unlikely—Republican supporters would need to gain one more senator’s vote to override his veto.
Democratic Sen. Nate Blouin argued that by passing the bill, Republican lawmakers were contributing to “conspiracy thinking” surrounding election security.
Since President Donald Trump falsely claimed that mail-in voting was riddled with fraud to explain his 2020 election loss, Republicans have sent mixed messages to their base. Despite his claims, Trump and the Republican National Committee have encouraged Republicans to vote by mail in the 2024 election to avoid giving Democrats an advantage.
The majority of Utah residents vote by mailing in their ballots or using drop boxes.
Earlier versions of the bill faced strong opposition from Utah’s county clerks, although they have since withdrawn their objections. However, some clerks still have concerns that the changes could undermine election security.
The bill directs clerks to focus on verifying ID numbers instead of matching signatures with those on file. Weber County Clerk Ricky Hatch expressed worry that this change could lead to more voter fraud, as it’s easier to obtain someone’s state ID number than to forge their signature.
“It’s definitely not a perfect bill, and that’s why the clerks initially opposed it. We’ve simply removed our opposition,” Hatch explained. “One of the main reasons we did this is because we received assurances from the bill’s sponsors that they would continue working with us to address the remaining issues to ensure voters are not negatively affected.”
The version of the bill that passed also includes a provision allowing tribal IDs to be accepted, addressing concerns that the changes would disenfranchise Native American voters in the last state to grant them access to the ballot box.