POLITIDEX

Utah · Statewide ballot question · November 3, 2026

Constitutional Amendment A

How proposed constitutional amendments are published · H.J.R. 10, 2025 General Session · amends Utah Constitution, Article XXIII, Section 1

Official ballot language

“Shall the Utah Constitution be amended to change how proposed constitutional amendments are published, requiring publication for 60 days immediately before the general election in a manner established by state law instead of in newspapers?” Constitutional Amendment A, as it appears on the 2026 Utah general-election ballot.

What your vote does

A Yes vote replaces the rule that a proposed amendment be published in at least one newspaper in every county for two months with a requirement that it be published for 60 calendar days immediately before the general election, in a manner set by statute. The companion law, H.B. 481, would then place the full text on the Utah Public Notice Website and the Lieutenant Governor’s website for those 60 days. Both take effect January 1, 2027.

A No vote leaves the existing requirement in place: every proposed amendment must be published in at least one newspaper in every county of the state where a newspaper is published, for two months before the general election. H.B. 481 does not take effect.

The text change

Utah Constitution, Article XXIII, Section 1, the sentence on publication, as H.J.R. 10 would amend it. The rest of the section is unchanged.

…and the Legislature shall cause the same to be published in at least one newspaper in every county of the state, where a newspaper is published, for two months, in a manner provided by statute, for 60 calendar days immediately preceding the next general election, at which time the said amendment or amendments shall be submitted to the electors of the state for their approval or rejection…

Struck text is removed; underlined text is added. Taken from the enrolled copy of H.J.R. 10.

Sponsors and the votes that placed it on the ballot

Chief sponsorRep. Anthony E. Loubet (R)
Senate sponsorSen. Daniel McCay (R)
House votePassed 70–0, 5 absent or not voting · February 26, 2025
Senate votePassed 29–0 · March 7, 2025

It passed both chambers without a single no vote. A proposed amendment needs two-thirds of the members elected to each house before it can go to voters.

Companion statute: H.B. 481, Ballot Proposition Requirements (same sponsors). House 70–0, 5 absent or not voting, February 26, 2025; Senate 28–0, 1 absent or not voting, March 7, 2025; signed by the governor March 27, 2025. It takes effect only if Amendment A is approved.

What each side says

Short lines first; tap More for the longer text. Every line is from the source named above it.

For

Source 2026 Utah Voter Information Pamphlet, argument in favor, by the sponsors, Rep. Anthony Loubet and Sen. Dan McCay

  • “Amendment A does not eliminate public notice. It updates how public notice is delivered.”
  • “By modernizing an outdated constitutional requirement, Utah can maintain transparency, improve accessibility and save taxpayer dollars.”
  • Most residents now stay informed through digital sources, mobile devices and online platforms.
    More

    The sponsors also write that the change lets public-notice practices adapt as technology evolves.

No named supporting group has published materials on file.

Against

Source 2026 Utah Voter Information Pamphlet, which carries no argument against

No organized opposition campaign is on file.

The measure passed the Legislature unanimously.

Background

The newspaper rule

For about 130 years, Article XXIII, Section 1 has required the Legislature to publish every proposed amendment in at least one newspaper in every Utah county where a newspaper is published, for two months before the election. The requirement sits in the Constitution itself, so it cannot be changed by statute.

What happened in 2024

In 2024 the publication requirement was not met for two amendments the Legislature had placed on that year’s ballot: Amendment A (education funding) and Amendment D (ballot initiatives). The Utah Supreme Court held both void, and the votes cast on them were not counted. On Amendment D the court wrote that these requirements “are not mere boxes to be checked before votes can be tallied.” H.J.R. 10 was introduced in the next general session, on February 11, 2025.

The cost of publication

The Legislature’s fiscal note for H.J.R. 10 estimates that publishing a proposed amendment under the current newspaper requirement could cost the Lieutenant Governor’s Office $1,410,000 in advertising, one-time, in fiscal year 2027. The fiscal note for H.B. 481 says the new method could let the state avoid about $1.4 million in costs to publish constitutional amendments or other questions the Legislature sends to voters, and that the extent of those savings is unknown.

What H.B. 481 does

H.B. 481 directs the Lieutenant Governor to publish the entire text of each proposed amendment for the 60 calendar days immediately before the general election as a “class A notice” under Utah Code 63G-30-102, which puts it on the Utah Public Notice Website and the Lieutenant Governor’s website. It applies the same 60-day rule to other questions the Legislature submits to voters.

Official sources