Anderson v. Bell

Summary

The Utah Supreme Court considered whether electronic signatures satisfy the signature requirement for an unaffiliated candidate's certificate of nomination under Utah Code section 20A-9-502. The court held that electronic signatures qualify, concluding that the Lieutenant Governor exceeded his discretion by excluding them, and granted extraordinary relief directing a recount of the submitted signatures.

Holdings

1. The signature requirement of Utah Code section 20A-9-502 includes electronic signatures; a qualifying electronic signature may satisfy the requirement that an unaffiliated statewide candidate obtain signatures from at least 1,000 registered voters.
2. The Lieutenant Governor exceeded the bounds of his discretion when he excised the electronic signatures from Anderson's certificate of nomination.
3. The Supreme Court could entertain the petition directly under Utah Rule of Appellate Procedure 19 because the impending election made it practically impossible for Anderson to obtain effective relief by proceeding first in district court.

Questions Presented

1. Whether an electronic signature satisfies the signature requirement in Utah Code section 20A-9-502 for an unaffiliated candidate seeking statewide office.
2. Whether the Lieutenant Governor exceeded the bounds of his discretion by removing the electronic signatures from Anderson's nomination petition.
3. Whether the Utah Supreme Court could entertain Anderson's extraordinary-writ petition directly under Utah Rule of Appellate Procedure 19 without prior district-court review.

Disposition

writ_granted