Utah state elections in 2020 were held on Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Aside from its presidential primaries held on March 3, its primary elections were held on June 30, 2020.[1]
In addition to the U.S. presidential race, Utah voters elected the Governor of Utah, 9 seats of its Board of Education, four of Utah's other executive officers, all of its seats to the House of Representatives, all of the seats of the Utah House of Representatives, and 15 of 29 seats in the Utah State Senate. Neither of the state's two U.S. Senate seats were up for election. Seven ballot measures were voted on.[1]
Federal offices
President of the United States
Utah, a stronghold for the Republican Party and thus a reliable "red state", has six electoral votes in the Electoral College. Donald Trump won with 58.13% of the vote to Joe Biden's 37.65%. On December 14, 2020, Utah cast its electoral votes for Donald Trump.
United States House of Representatives
All four of Utah's seats in the U.S. House of Representatives were up for election. The Republican Party candidates won all four seats, with the party gaining the 4th congressional district seat from the Democratic Party.
Governor
Incumbent lieutenant governor Spencer Cox ran against University of Utah law professor and former CFPB official Christopher Peterson. Cox was elected to be Governor of Utah. He was elected with 64.3% of the vote.
Attorney general
Incumbent Republican attorney general Sean Reyes was elected for a third term with 60.6% of the vote in the general election. In the Republican primary, he faced challenger David O. Leavitt (Utah County attorney) after former attorney general John Swallow withdrew from the race.[2]
In the Democratic primary, attorney and ex-small claims court judge Greg Skordas, who was the Democratic nominee for the attorney general election in 2004, ran unopposed (following the withdrawal of Kevin Probasco). Rudy Bautista ran as a Libertarian.[2]
Republican primary
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated in the primary
Polling
Poll source
|
Date(s) administered
|
Sample size[a]
|
Margin of error
|
David Leavitt
|
Sean Reyes
|
John Swallow
|
Undecided
|
Suffolk University/Salt Lake Tribune[3]
|
June 4–7, 2020
|
500 (LV)
|
± 4.4%
|
26%
|
31%
|
–
|
43%
|
Y2 Analytics/UtahPolicy/KUTV 2 News[4][1]
|
May 9–15, 2020
|
581 (LV)[b]
|
–
|
40%
|
60%
|
–
|
–
|
Y2 Analytics/UtahPolicy/KUTV 2 News[5][2]
|
March 21–30, 2020
|
704 (LV)[c]
|
–
|
32%
|
54%
|
15%
|
–
|
Results
Democratic primary
Candidates
Nominee
Eliminated at the convention
Polling
Poll source
|
Date(s) administered
|
Sample size[a]
|
Margin of error
|
Kevin Probasco
|
Greg Skordas
|
Y2 Analytics/UtahPolicy/KUTV 2 News[5]
|
March 21–30, 2020
|
223 (LV)
|
± 6.6%
|
28%
|
72%
|
General election
Polling
Poll source
|
Date(s) administered
|
Sample size[a]
|
Margin of error
|
Sean Reyes (R)
|
Greg Skordas (D)
|
Other
|
Undecided
|
Lighthouse Research/Salt Lake Tribune[6][3]
|
August 31–September 12, 2020
|
2,000 (RV)
|
± 4.38%
|
46%
|
25%
|
5%[d]
|
23%
|
Results
Auditor
2020 Utah State Auditor election|
|
|
County results Congressional district results Dougall: 60–70% 70–80% 80–90% >90% |
|
Treasurer
State Board of Education
District 3
Republican convention
Results
District 4
Republican convention
Results
District 7
Results
District 8
Results
District 10
Republican nomination
Convention
Republican convention results[8]
|
Candidate
|
Round 1
|
Round 2
|
Votes
|
%
|
Votes
|
%
|
David Linford
|
|
%
|
|
%
|
Molly Hart
|
|
%
|
|
%
|
Jeffrey Ferlo
|
|
%
|
Eliminated
|
Inactive ballots
|
0 ballots
|
0 ballots
|
Primary
Results
District 11
Republican convention
Results
District 12
Republican convention
Republican convention results[8][10]
|
Candidate
|
Round 1 & 2
|
Round 3
|
Votes
|
%
|
Votes
|
%
|
James Moss
|
171
|
56.2%
|
210
|
71.7%
|
Lorri-Sue Blunt
|
71
|
23.4%
|
83
|
28.3%
|
Joe Rivest
|
62
|
20.4%
|
Eliminated
|
Inactive ballots
|
0 ballots
|
11 ballots
|
Results
District 13
Republican nomination
Convention
Republican convention results[8]
|
Candidate
|
Round 1
|
Round 2
|
Votes
|
%
|
Votes
|
%
|
Randy Boothe
|
|
%
|
|
%
|
Alyson Williams
|
|
%
|
|
%
|
Jeff Rust
|
|
%
|
Eliminated
|
Inactive ballots
|
0 ballots
|
0 ballots
|
Primary
Results
District 15
Republican nomination
Convention
Republican convention results[8]
|
Candidate
|
Round 1
|
Round 2
|
Votes
|
%
|
Votes
|
%
|
Scott F. Smith
|
140
|
45.6%
|
161
|
53.8%
|
Kristan Norton
|
112
|
36.5%
|
138
|
46.2%
|
Dale M Brinkerhoff
|
55
|
17.9%
|
Eliminated
|
Inactive ballots
|
0 ballots
|
8 ballots
|
Primary
Results
State legislature
All 75 seats of the Utah House of Representatives and 15 of 29 seats of the Utah State Senate were up for election. Before the election the composition of the Utah State Legislature was:
State senate
Party
|
# of seats
|
|
Republican
|
23
|
|
Democratic
|
6
|
Total
|
29
|
|
House of Representatives
Party
|
# of seats
|
|
Republican
|
59
|
|
Democratic
|
16
|
Total
|
75
|
|
After the election, the composition was:
State senate
Party
|
# of seats
|
|
Republican
|
23
|
|
Democratic
|
6
|
Total
|
29
|
|
House of Representatives
Party
|
# of seats
|
|
Republican
|
58
|
|
Democratic
|
17
|
Total
|
75
|
|
State Judiciary
Utah Supreme Court
Retain Judge John A. Pearce for 10 more years
Choice
|
Votes
|
%
|
Yes
|
1,025,585
|
81.5
|
No
|
232,407
|
18.5
|
Utah Court of Appeals
Retain Judge Michele Christiansen for 6 more years
Choice
|
Votes
|
%
|
Yes
|
1,023,082
|
82.4
|
No
|
218,804
|
17.6
|
Retain Judge Diana Hagen for 6 more years
Choice
|
Votes
|
%
|
Yes
|
1,038,612
|
83.1
|
No
|
211,810
|
16.9
|
Retain Judge Ryan M. Harris for 6 more years
Choice
|
Votes
|
%
|
Yes
|
925,080
|
75.0
|
No
|
308,015
|
25.0
|
Retain Judge David Mortensen for 6 more years
Choice
|
Votes
|
%
|
Yes
|
967,500
|
77.7
|
No
|
277,924
|
22.3
|
Retain Judge Gregory Orme for 6 more years
Choice
|
Votes
|
%
|
Yes
|
994,542
|
80.0
|
No
|
248,153
|
20.0
|
Retain Judge Jill Pohlman for 6 more years
Choice
|
Votes
|
%
|
Yes
|
1,036,007
|
83.1
|
No
|
210,290
|
16.9
|
Ballot measures
Measure SJR 9 is a state constitutional amendment to allow income tax to fund programs for children and people with disabilities.[11]
Polling
Poll source
|
Date(s) administered
|
Sample size[a]
|
Margin of error
|
For SJR 9
|
Against SJR 9
|
Undecided
|
Y2 Analytics/UtahPolicy/KUTV 2 News[12]
|
March 21–30, 2020
|
1,260 (LV)
|
± 2.8%
|
46%
|
35%
|
19%
|
Amendment A
Update Gender Terminology
Choice
|
Votes
|
%
|
Yes
|
828,629
|
57.69
|
No
|
607,829
|
42.31
|
Amendment B
Lawmaker Eligibility Timing
Choice
|
Votes
|
%
|
Yes
|
1,114,795
|
80.10
|
No
|
276,897
|
19.90
|
Amendment C
Remove Slavery Exception
Choice
|
Votes
|
%
|
Yes
|
1,138,974
|
80.48
|
No
|
276,171
|
19.52
|
Amendment D
Amendment D|
|
|
|
Yes
60–70%
50–60%
|
No
60–70%
50–60%
| |
Revise Local Water Rights
Choice
|
Votes
|
%
|
Yes
|
827,596
|
61.14
|
No
|
525,985
|
38.86
|
Amendment E
Add Right to Hunt and Fish
Choice
|
Votes
|
%
|
Yes
|
1,063,212
|
74.92
|
No
|
355,848
|
25.08
|
Amendment F
Legislative Session Dates
Choice
|
Votes
|
%
|
Yes
|
895,435
|
66.51
|
No
|
450,835
|
33.49
|
Amendment G
Amendment G|
|
|
|
Yes
60–70%
50–60%
|
No
50–60%
| |
Expand Income, Prop Tax Uses
Choice
|
Votes
|
%
|
Yes
|
764,420
|
54.09
|
No
|
648,840
|
45.91
|
The 2020 election took place against a backdrop of uncertainty. The following data tables highlight voter registration rules, in-person voting procedures, and absentee voting procedures relevant to the November 3, 2020, general election in the state of Utah.
Voter registration in Utah[13]
|
Registration URL
|
[14]
|
Registration status URL
|
[15]
|
Registration update URL
|
[16]
|
In-person registration deadline
|
October 23, 2020
|
Mail registration deadline
|
October 23, 2020
|
Mail postmark or receipt deadline
|
Received
|
Online registration deadline
|
October 23, 2020
|
Same-day registration
|
Yes
|
Early voting same-day registration
|
Yes
|
In-person voting in Utah[13]
|
All voters required to show ID
|
Yes
|
ID types
|
[17]
|
ID source URL
|
[18]
|
Early voting start date
|
October 20, 2020
|
Early voting end date
|
October 30, 2020
|
Weekend voting?
|
Yes
|
Early voting source URL
|
[19]
|
Election Day poll times
|
7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
|
Absentee voting in Utah[13]
|
Are there limits on who can request a ballot?
|
No
|
Mail request deadline
|
N/A
|
Request postmark or receipt deadline
|
N/A
|
Mail return deadline
|
November 2, 2020
|
Return postmark or receipt deadline
|
Postmarked
|
Notary/witness requirements
|
No requirement
|
Notes
- ^ a b c d Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
- ^ Including registered Republican likely primary voters and currently unaffiliated likely primary voters
- ^ Including registered Republican likely primary voters and currently unaffiliated likely primary voters
- ^ Bautista (L) with 5%; "Other" with no voters
Partisan clients
References
- ^ a b "Utah elections, 2020". Ballotpedia. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
- ^ a b "UTAH". Politics1. Retrieved June 13, 2020.
- ^ Suffolk University/Salt Lake Tribune
- ^ Y2 Analytics/UtahPolicy/KUTV 2 News
- ^ a b Y2 Analytics/UtahPolicy/KUTV 2 News
- ^ Lighthouse Research/Salt Lake Tribune
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Election Results". Associated Press. November 27, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g "Convention Results". The Utah Republican Party. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Utah Voting Results" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on December 18, 2021. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
- ^ "State Board of Education - District 12".
- ^ "Utah Political Trends Panel March 2020" (PDF). Y2 Analytics. March 30, 2020. Retrieved June 29, 2020.
- ^ Y2 Analytics/UtahPolicy/KUTV 2 News
- ^ a b c "Utah elections, 2020". Ballotpedia. Retrieved January 30, 2021.
- ^ Link
- ^ Link
- ^ Link
- ^ Link
- ^ Link
- ^ Link
External links
- Government Documents Round Table of the American Library Association, "Utah", Voting & Elections Toolkits
- "Utah: Election Tools, Deadlines, Dates, Rules, and Links", Vote.org, Oakland, CA
- "League of Women Voters of Utah". (state affiliate of the U.S. League of Women Voters)
- Utah at Ballotpedia
- "State Elections Legislation Database", Ncsl.org, Washington, D.C.: National Conference of State Legislatures,
State legislation related to the administration of elections introduced in 2011 through this year, 2020
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