Opinion ID: 2631167
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the county clerk's official endorsement

Text: ¶ 33 Swensen argues that the trial court erred in holding that section 20A-6-301 of the Election Code prohibits the county clerk from including his or her official endorsementconsisting of the county clerk's name, facsimile signature, and official title as incumbent county clerkon every page of the ballot booklet. Because a district court's interpretation of a statute is a legal question, we review its ruling for correctness. Jeffs v. Stubbs, 970 P.2d 1234, 1240 (Utah 1998) (citing MacKay v. Hardy, 896 P.2d 626, 630-31 (Utah 1995)). ¶ 34 Section 20A-1-401 of the Election Code states that [c]ourts ... shall construe the provisions of Title 20A, Election Code, liberally to carry out the intent of this title. Utah Code Ann. § 20A-1-401(1) (1998). The Election Code's clear intent and purpose is to ensure the fairness of elections. In Earl v. Lewis, 28 Utah 116, 77 P. 235 (1904), this court stated: `[T]he presumption is that [election laws] are enacted to prevent fraud and to secure freedom of choice, and not, by technical obstructions, to make the right of voting insecure.' 28 Utah at 121, 77 P. at 237 (quoting Blackmer v. Hildreth, 181 Mass. 29, 63 N.E. 14, 15 (1902)). This principle must be borne in mind in the construction of the election statute at issue in this case. ¶ 35 Section 20A-6-303 of the Election Code establishes the statutory requirements for machine-counted ballots used in regular general elections. However, section 20A-6-303 does not contain the ballot's content and format requirements, but rather, refers to section 20A-6-301, which contains the content and format requirements for paper ballots used in regular general elections. Section 20A-6-301 provides as follows: (1) Each election officer shall ensure that: (a) all ballots furnished for use at the regular general election contain no captions or other endorsements except as provided in this section; (b)(i) the ballot contains a ballot stub at least one inch wide, placed across the top of the ballot, and divided from the rest of ballot by a perforated line; ... (c) immediately below the perforated ballot stub, the following endorsements are printed in 18-point bold type: (i) Official Ballot for ____________ County, Utah; (ii) the date of the election; and (iii) a facsimile of the signature of the county clerk and the words county clerk; . . . . (2) Each election officer shall ensure that: . . . (d) the ballots contain no other names. Utah Code Ann. § 20A-6-301(1)(2)(d) (emphasis added). ¶ 36 Thus, the plain and ordinary meaning of section 20A-6-301 contemplates a single one-inch ballot stub followed by a perforated line below which the county clerk endorses the ballotonce and in no other place. Nowhere does section 20A-6-301 state that the county clerk's official endorsement must appear on every page of the ballot or head each race or election. Section 20A-6-301 requires an official endorsement merely to identify the ballot as official. Although machine-counted ballots are different in form than paper ballots, the advent of machine-counted ballots does not alter the plain meaning of section 20A-6-301. ¶ 37 Moreover, Swensen's interpretation of section 20A-6-301requiring an official endorsement on every page of the ballot bookletwould undermine the fairness of the election. Swensen's view of section 20A-6-301 would allow the incumbent county clerk, and no other candidate, to benefit from having his or her name, facsimile signature, and official title as incumbent county clerk appear numerous times on the official ballot, on the sample ballot posted at polling places, and in sample ballots appearing in newspapers which reach thousands of potential voters. No other candidate would enjoy such free campaigning at the public expense. Therefore, Swensen's interpretation of section 20A-6-301 must be rejected as it contravenes the plain meaning of the statute and the purpose and intent of the Election Code. ¶ 38 On the basis of the foregoing, we conclude that the trial court correctly interpreted section 20A-6-301 requiring that Swensen's name, facsimile signature, and title as incumbent county clerk appear only once, on the first page of the ballot booklet.