Citizens in Charge

Utah’s highest court will hear arguments tomorrow to decide if signatures collected over the internet count on Utah petitions. The effort to allow signatures is being backed by the state chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union. Utahans for Ethical Government, which is supporting an ongoing initiative effort, will be joined by an independent candidate for governor in appealing a decision not to count the electronic signatures.

In March Lt. Governor Rich Bell disallowed signatures that had been electronically collected by both Utahans for Ethical Government and gubernatorial candidate Farley Anderson. The ethics group worries it will not be able to meet it’s August deadline without the online signatures; it lost 10,000. Anderson’s bid for governor has already been blocked because electronic signatures were rejected from his nominating petition.

According to Utah law, a signature ‘may not be denied legal effect or enforceability solely because it is in electronic form.’” As the ACLU’s attorney puts it,

“Since the earliest days of the common law, a ‘signature’ was any mark that the signing individual intended to be his ‘signature.’ That was true whether the mark was on paper, on wood, on a wall, or on a cow.”

Supporters also point out that many other types of legal transactions, such as getting a fishing license or renewing a drivers license, are already done online. Hopefully the state Supreme Court sees that petitions are no different and decides to allow Utah’s electoral system to come into the 21st century.

Utah would be the first state to accept signatures electronically for initiative petitions if the court rules the signatures are valid.