The organizers of a referendum to overturn HB267 – the controversial "union busting" bill – blew past the number of signatures they needed to put the issue on the ballot. Protect Utah Workers, a coalition of labor organizations, submitted petitions with approximately 320,000 signatures, more than double what is required, to advance their referendum effort.
County clerks have until May 7 to verify those signatures to determine whether there are enough to let voters decide whether to keep or veto the law.
HB267, effectively silences public employee unions by stripping their power to negotiate for wages, benefits, and working conditions. The Republican-controlled legislature pushed through the bill despite fierce opposition from union members and their supporters.
Gov. Spencer Cox made a surprising about face last week, distancing himself from the law, which he signed, by declaring he didn’t support it when it was approved by lawmakers.
To qualify for the ballot, organizers need just over 140,000 valid signatures statewide, which is 8% of the active voters in Utah. In addition, they must reach the 8% threshold in 15 of the state's 29 State Senate districts.
According to the latest numbers from Utah election officials, 47,129 signatures have been verified statewide as of Monday morning, which is approximately one-third of the total needed.
The required total has not yet been met in any of the 29 Senate districts, but a handful are more than halfway to the goal. Three of those districts are held by Democrats, while two are represented by Republicans, including Senate President Stuart Adams.
- SD9 (Jen Plumb - D) - 86.01%
- SD13 (Nate Blouin - D) - 69.06%
- SD8 (Todd Weiler - R) - 67.96%
- SD14 (Stephanie Pitcher - D) - 66.3%
- SD7 (Stuart Adams - R) - 52.23%
Once a signature is verified, the voter's name is published online. Once that happens, they have 45 days to remove their signature from the petition if they so choose.
The signature removal process has proven critical before. In 2018, the Count My Vote ballot initiative was derailed when opponents convinced just 100 voters across two state Senate districts to remove their names from the petition. That was just enough to block the proposal from advancing to the ballot.
The Lt. Governor's office has until June 21 to determine whether the referendum has met the signature requirement to be included on the ballot.
