Electronic Signatures: Making Our Voices Heard
(Opinion piece in Salt Lake Tribune, Januayr 30, 2010)
By Dana And Lynn Wilson
Updated: 01/29/2010 03:08:38 PM MST
Our right to make law by citizen initiative is guaranteed by the Utah Constitution. Voters can sign a petition to support putting a proposal on the ballot. If a sufficient number of signatures of registered voters is collected, the issue can be brought to a popular vote.
To be valid, petition signatures must be legible and accompanied by information such as the voter’s name, residential address and age (optional but often helpful for unambiguous verification).
This year, two high-profile citizen groups — Fair Boundaries and Utahns for Ethical Government — aim to put two important issues on the November election ballot in Utah. To learn more about the proposed initiatives, go to http://www.fairboundaries.org/ and http://www.utahnsforethicalgovernment.org/.
Utah’s statutes require that all proposed citizen initiatives must be supported by at least 95,000 validated signatures of registered voters, representing all of the state’s 29 senatorial districts. In the past, paper copies of petitions were the means of gathering signatures. Volunteers who circulated the paper petition also served as witness to voters’ signatures.
A review of signed paper petitions has shown that roughly one of 10 signatures is likely to be rejected. Why? Crucial information is missing or the handwriting is illegible. In addition to
indecipherable names, some voters have had an address change since they last voted.
Then there are the individuals who sign paper petitions using nicknames such as Dick instead of Richard or Bonnie instead of Bonita.
These troublesome petition signatures, which must be cross-checked against the county’s voter database, are time-consuming and expensive to verify. County officials spend valuable time checking for legal names (as best as they can read them), residential address (which often changes), ZIP code and birth date (the most helpful information). This is especially true for some migratory college students, missionaries and the recently married.
The ultimate confirmation of a voter’s true identity is his or her actual birth date, which never changes. Yet, it is listed as optional on all initiative petitions.
Thankfully, technology has come to the rescue.
An article published in The Salt Lake Tribune (Jan. 20) explained how a new Web site would gather signatures electronically rather than rely solely on paper petitions as in the past. The legal basis for electronic signatures is established under Utah Code (cf. 46-4-201).
The beauty of the electronic signature lies in its savings in time and expense. This technology allows instantaneous confirmation of whether or not the signature is that of a registered voter. Of course, review and oversight of the electronic process will require careful monitoring, but that’s trivial compared to the expense of having this painstaking work done manually by county clerks.
The right to citizen initiative is one of the sacred privileges guaranteed under our constitution. Whether you sign a petition by hand or do so electronically, make sure your name is legible and always include the month, date and year you were born, lest your voice be lost due to a technicality.
When we exercise our right to make laws, good penmanship is more than just pretty handwriting. It is a sword protecting our rights as citizens of Utah. Today, an electronic signature is a tool that facilitates our right to initiative, thus enabling a more accurate, verifiable and cost-effective way to make our voices heard.
