Utah legislation · 2026 General Session
Utah HB420: Municipal Office Vacancy Modifications
Status: Signed into law, March 23, 2026
This bill modifies the process for filling a vacancy in a municipal office.
What the bill says
A resolution or ordinance identifying a fair and transparent method that the municipal body will use: (i) in the event of a tie between three or more candidates, to eliminate candidates, by lot, where each tied candidate has an equal chance of elimination, until only two candidates remain; or (ii) in the event that one candidate receives the most votes, but not a majority of the votes, and two or more candidates tie for receiving the second most votes, to eliminate candidates tied for receiving the second most votes, by lot, where each tied candidate has an equal chance of elimination, until o.
From the enrolled text, March 12, 2026:
a resolution or ordinance identifying a fair and transparent method that the municipal body will use: (i) in the event of a tie between three or more candidates, to eliminate candidates, by lot, where each tied candidate has an equal chance of elimination, until only two candidates remain; or (ii) in the event that one candidate receives the most votes, but not a majority of the votes, and two or more candidates tie for receiving the second most votes, to eliminate candidates tied for receiving the second most votes, by lot, where each tied candidate has an equal chance of elimination, until only one of the tied candidates remains. (4) (a) The municipal legislative body shall take an initial vote to fill the vacancy from among the names of the candidates interviewed under Subsection (3)(d) . (b) If no candidate receives a majority vote of the municipal legislative body in the initial vote described in Subsection (4)(a) , the municipal legislative body shall: (i) take another vote between the two candidates who received the most votes in the initial vote; or (ii) if, due to a tie, the municipal legislative body cannot identify only two candidates as receiving the most votes in the initial vote, take another vote between the two candidates who remain after applying the applicable method identified …