Shurtleff Declares e-Signatures Illegal for Petitions
By Ami Joi O’Donoghue
The Deseret News
SALT LAKE CITY — An opinion issued by Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff said electronic signatures collected in the state initiative process are invalid under state law and should not be counted toward satisfying signature requirements.
This ruling was totally expected. It will only increase support for the ethics and fair boundaries initiatives. What was not expected was how early the ruling came in the process. It was expected that it would be delayed until the last minute so as to reduce the time for initiative backers to challenge the matter in court.
The decision gives the initiatives an energy boost and draws even greater attention to the need for these initiatives.
The two initiative groups are all prepared for legal action and they feel very confident about their position. In the meantime the drive for 95,000 signatures remains in full gear, including both paper and electronic. Full steam ahead! We are going to make serving in the legislature a true public service instead of a front for a con game.
Governor Herbert has become the poster boy of the Ethics Initiative, having received a $10,000 payoff from a coal company to fast track a permit, and a $50,000 payment from one of the state’s main building contractors. People are looking for a place to sign the petition, and if the court approves online signatures it wouldn’t be a surprise if more than 300,000 sign it.
The decision, released from Lt. Gov. Greg Bell’s office Wednesday, is a setback to a citizen group’s efforts to get a government-ethics and reform initiative before voters this fall.
The Peoples Right Group invited registered voters to go to a Web site, www.I-Sign.us, and sign two petitions it has on government ethics.
At the time of the announcement in January, state elections manager Mark Thomas said he was doubtful the electronic signatures would hold up under legal scrutiny because the current initiative petition law is “paper based.”
That doubt was solidified in Shurtleff’s opinion, which said the law as it stands does not “contemplate or allow for the use of electronic signatures and the statutes concerning the use of electronic signatures do not require they be accepted in the initiative process.”Shurtleff goes on to reiterate in his opinion that it is clear that the Legislature contemplated the process as “paper based,” and that initiative provisions appear to specifically prohibit electronic circulation of petitions and electronic signatures.
Bell’s release said he sought Shurtleff’s opinion after questions were raised about the process of gathering signatures online in support of the initiative.
Based on Shurtleff’s opinion , Bell said it would be his recommendation lawmakers examine the issue, especially in this technology-driven age.
— Amy Joi O’Donoghue
