Democrats and Republicans forge rare agreement in Utah Senate

SALT LAKE CITY – One of the few proposals that Democrat and Republican senators gathered here for the 2022 General Session of the 64th Utah Legislature actually agree on is Senate Bill 170 Election Schedule Amendments.

Introduced in the Utah Senate on Feb. 3, that legislation would change the date of the candidate filing period for the upcoming 2022 midterm election.

Under current state law, the official window for would-be candidates to file for local, state and national offices will open Monday, March 7 and close on Friday, March 11.

But that filing period falls in the middle of party caucus night events throughout the state, according to Ben Anderson, the communications director for Utah Democrats.

For example, the GOP Caucus in Cache County is slated for March 8.

S.B. 70 will move the statewide filing window of candidates from March 7 to 11 to Feb. 28 to March 4.

“I support this bill and look forward to an increase in civic participation as a result,” said Diane Lewis, the chair of the Utah Democratic Party. “(S.B. 170) will help ensure that those who participate in caucus nights across the state will be as informed as possible about the candidates on the ballot and it will make sure that the candidates, voters and local parties are all on the same page.”

Here in Cache County, potential candidates who might be impacted by the altered filing window include state officials Sen. Scott Sandall and Representatives Joel Ferry, Mike Petersen, Casey Snider and Dan Johnson.

At county level, officials up for reelection in November include County Executive David Zook, Clerk/Auditor Jess Bradfield, County Attorney John Luthy, Sheriff Chad Jensen and Cache County Council members Paul Borup, Gina Worthen and Gordon Zilles.

Finally, U.S. Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah Congressional District 1) is also facing the challenge of reelection in November.

After coordination between state Democratic and Republican party leaders and the majority and minority caucuses in the Utah Senate, S.B. 170 was introduced into the Senate Health & Human Services Committee on Feb. 3 by Sen. Wayne A. Harper (R-Taylorsville).

The proposed legislation would also move the candidate filing period to the beginning of January in all future election years.

“S.B. 70 is the direction needed to ensure participation in the election process is timely and adequate for all,” according to Senate Minority Whip Luz Escamilla (D-Salt Lake). “This will empower the people of Utah and provide better ways to participate in the (election) process.”

With the blessing of Democratic and Republican party leadership, S.B. 170 is expected to sail through the Utah Senate and House approval processes and be signed by Gov. Spencer Cox prior to the end of the general session of the Legislature.

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1 Comment

  • Justin D. Caplin February 5, 2022 at 11:20 pm Reply

    SB 170 is a terrible idea. The democrats and republicans are in agreement on this because it PROTECTS INCUMBENTS ONLY. This bill moves the filing deadline to the first week of January starting in 2024. That means that potential candidates must file BEFORE the legislative session — meaning the incumbents can vote for whatever they want during the session without worrying about voters disliking their positions and running a candidate against them. This is an attempt to reduce consequences for incumbents during the legislative session. Please urge your reps and senators to vote against this. Hold them responsible.

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