Voters must opt in to receive a mail ballot; a 2025 law also adds ID-number verification.
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Overview
Updated 2 hours agoUtah will stop automatically mailing ballots to every active registered voter in 2029. About 95% of Utahns now vote by mail, and under a 2025 law they'll need to opt in to keep receiving a ballot.
The change is part of HB300, which also requires voters to write the last four digits of their state ID on ballot envelopes starting in 2026. County clerks have until 2029 to build the opt-in system. Those who opt in must renew every eight years; voters who don't sign up can still vote in person.
Why it matters
If Utah voters don't opt in by 2029, most will lose the mail ballot they've relied on for years.
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The Republican-controlled body that passed HB300.
Utah's top election official, responsible for voter registration and election administration.
Timeline
March 2025 January 2029
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Automatic mail voting ends
Upcoming DeadlineVoters must have a state ID and opt in to receive a mail ballot. In-person voters must show ID.
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State alert: opt in by 2029
Latest Public NoticeThe Salt Lake Tribune reports that about 95% of Utah voters rely on automatically mailed ballots. Voters must opt in by 2029 to keep receiving them.
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ID-number requirement takes effect
Rule ChangeVoters with a state ID must write the last four digits on mail ballot return envelopes. Signature verification remains for voters without an ID number.
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Utah Legislature passes HB300
LegislationThe House and Senate approve a bill phasing out automatic mail voting by 2029 and adding ID requirements. The bill heads to Gov. Spencer Cox.
Historical Context
3 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.
Oregon Measure 60 (1998)
Oregon voters approved Measure 60, making Oregon the first state to conduct all elections by mail. The state began sending every registered voter a ballot and closed most polling places.
Turnout rose in the 2000 election, and other Western states adopted mail voting.
Automatic mail voting became a standard method across the region.
Utah's current system grew out of the same expansion. The 2025 law reverses that direction by making mail voting opt-in.
Kansas proof-of-citizenship law (2013)
Kansas required new voters to show documents proving U.S. citizenship. The state suspended more than 30,000 registrations that didn't match its records.
Thousands of voters were blocked or delayed from voting.
Courts struck down the requirement, and Kansas returned to the federal form.
It shows how adding documentation steps to voting can create barriers, even when the goal is security. Utah's ID-number and opt-in rules add similar steps.
Florida SB 90 (2021)
Florida's Republican legislature passed a law restricting mail voting. It required voters to request a mail ballot for each election, added ID-number requirements, and limited drop boxes.
Mail-ballot requests fell sharply in the 2022 election.
The law became a model for other Republican states after the 2020 election.
Utah's law uses similar tools: ID numbers on envelopes and a new request requirement. Florida shows how such rules can reduce mail voting even when in-person voting remains available.
