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Registering as a New Political Party
Unless an organization is registered as a political party,
it may not place the names of candidates representing that organization
on the primary or regular general election ballot under the organization's
name. In order to
become a registered political party, an organization must follow
the procedures listed below:
Circulate a petition seeking registered political party
status. The petition must be signed by 2,000 registered voters
in the state of Utah. The organization may not begin circulating
the petition until after the statewide canvass of the regular
general election and before the general election for which it
is seeking party status. For example, if an organization is seeking
party status for the 2002 general election, it may not begin circulating
its petition until November 27, 2000, the date of the canvass
for the 2000 general election. To view current political party petitions click here.
In addition
to the signatures, the organization must submit the following:
·
the
prospective party's name and emblem, and
·
the process that
the organization will follow to organize and adopt a constitution
and bylaws.
The information must be signed by
a filing officer who agrees to receive communications on behalf
of the organization. The party name must not exceed four words
and the emblem must be distinguishable from the emblems of other
registered political parties. If the lieutenant governor finds
that the name, emblem, or both are not distinguishable from those
of other registered political parties, he or she will notify the
filing officer that he has seven days to submit a new name or
emblem to the lieutenant governor. A registered political party
may not change its name or emblem during the regular general election
cycle. If the prospective party already has a constitution and
bylaws, they should be filed with the petition. If not, the organization
should file the process it will follow to adopt a constitution
and bylaws should it become a registered party.
The petition signatures must be checked by the county clerk
and all required information must be received in the Lt. Governor's
Office by February 15 of the year of the general election for
which party status is sought.
Maintaining Registered Political
Party Status
In order to maintain its status as a registered political
party, an organization must participate in the general election
and one or more of its candidates must receive a total vote equal
to at least 2% of the total vote cast for all candidates for the
U. S. House of Representatives. If a party fails to maintain its
status, it must follow the procedures for registering as a new
political party in order to appear on the ballot in the following
general election.
Submitting Information to the Lt.
Governor's Office
·
Each
registered political party must designate a party officer to act
as a liaison with the Lt. Governor's Office.
·
Within seven days
of changing a party liaison, the name of the new liaison must
be submitted to the office.
·
Each state and county
political party must submit the names of its officers to the Lt.
Governor's Office within seven days of selecting or changing the
party officers.
·
If a political party
amends its constitution and bylaws, revised copies must be submitted
to the Lt. Governor's Office within 15 days of the amendment.
The information
may be mailed, faxed, or hand delivered.
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