Part A – MEETINGS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Section 1 – Meeting Schedule
The time and place of regular Executive Committee meetings shall be set by the State Chairperson in consultation with members of the Executive Committee.
Section 2 – Executive Committee Quorum
A quorum for Executive Committee meetings shall consist of five committee members, three of whom must be elected officers. Meetings with fewer than a quorum may be held for information and planning. Votes of the Executive Committee may not be conducted without a quorum.
Section 3 – Minutes
Minutes of all Executive Committee meetings shall be distributed to all Executive Committee members within 21 days.
Section 4 – Email Voting
a) Any action about urgent matters of personnel, campaign and party strategy, media response, and finance, that may be taken at a meeting of the Executive Committee, may also be taken without a meeting and voted on by email if and only if the request for a vote is sent to all members of the Executive Committee. The action is approved when and if a majority of the Executive Committee votes to approve within 72 hours of the request.
b) A record of any votes taken outside a regularly scheduled meeting shall be included in the minutes of the meeting of the executive officers or Executive Committee immediately following the vote.
Section 5 – Access to Party Records
Requests by United Utah Party members to access Party records may be approved by a vote of the Executive Committee.
Section 6 – Executive Officers’ Meetings
Meetings of the elected officers and staff alone are called “Executive Officers’ Meetings” and minutes for these meetings are distributed to the elected executive officers and staff involved. Minutes of these meetings are filed with all other Executive Committee meeting minutes and accessible by any member of the Executive Committee.
Part B – GRIEVANCES AND REMOVAL OF ELECTED PARTY OFFICIALS FROM OFFICE
Section 1 – Grievance Committees
In the case of grievances against the Party or any Party official other than the Party Chairperson, the Chairperson shall appoint a Grievance Committee to handle the matter. The Party Vice Chairperson shall appoint a Grievance Committee if the grievance is against the Party Chairperson.
Section 2 – Grievance Against an Executive Committee Member
a) If a complaint is received against a member of the Executive Committee, specifically requesting removal from office, the Executive Committee must consider the request if the request meets the following conditions:
i) the complaint is based on the conduct of the accused Executive Committee member, and
ii) the complaint is signed by registered party members, and
iii) the number of signers is at least 1% of the then-current number of active voters registered with the Party (as published by the Lt Governor’s office) or a relevant Grievance Committee.
b) The Executive Committee shall then consider the complaint and vote on potential removal as prescribed in the Party Constitution.
Section 3 — Executive Expulsion
a) If an Executive Committee member fails to perform the duties of that office, as may be evidenced by absence from three consecutive Executive Committee meetings without excuse, or acts in such a way to discredit the Party, the Executive Committee may vote to remove the individual from the Executive Committee.
b) If the Executive Committee votes to expel an elected officer, the individual shall be replaced by the methods described in the Party Constitution. If the expelled committee member is a congressional district representative, the position may be reappointed.
Part C - FINANCES
Section 1 – Annual Budget
a) The fiscal year for United Utah shall be the calendar year.
b) The state chairperson shall appoint, prior to the expiration of each fiscal year, a budget committee, comprised of the State Party Chairperson and the State Party Treasurer and three additional Party members. The Budget Committee shall have the responsibility of preparing a budget for the next fiscal year.
c) The budget as prepared shall be submitted to the Executive Committee before the end of the fiscal year.
d) The Executive Committee shall approve the budget within the first sixty days of the new year.
Section 2 – Financial Audit
The State Chairperson shall commission an audit of Party finances at the end of any fiscal year when the budget exceeds $250,000.
Section 3 – County Party Financial Review
a) A member of the State Party Executive Committee shall provide training to each County Party Treasurer within 30 days of their election to the office.
b) The State Treasurer shall conduct an annual review of County Party financial records within 60 days prior to the respective County Convention.
Section 4 – Expenditures and Reimbursements
a) Expenditures, outside the approved budget, of less than $1000 must have the approval of the State Party Chairperson.
b) Expenditures of $1000 or more, outside the approved budget, must be approved by a majority vote of the Executive Committee
c) Expenditures for approved Party expenses shall be reimbursed upon presentation of itemized receipts, that are submitted to the State Party Treasurer no later than three months after the expenditure was incurred.
Part D - CONVENTIONS
Section 1 - The annual conventions of the United Utah Party shall be open to the public to observe.
Section 2 - Call to Convention
a) The Executive Committee shall set the date, site, agenda, and other matters related to the convention.
b) The call to convention shall be made public no less than 35 days prior to the convention and shall include the date, purpose of convention, site, hours of registration, etc.
c) During even-numbered years, the United Utah designated government liaison shall notify the Lt. Governor’s office of the dates of all United Utah political conventions that year, no later than 5 PM on February 15th, as required by state law. The Party liaison shall also notify the Lt. Governor’s office of convention date changes within one business day of any change made after February 15th.
Section 3 – Delegates
To participate as a voting delegate at the state convention, registered members of the United Utah Party may be required to reserve a convention seat and ballot at least 15 days prior to the state convention. Delegates may be required to produce proof of party affiliation upon arrival.
Section 4 – Eligibility of State Party Officer Candidates:
a) Candidates for State Party Chair or State Party Vice-Chair shall have prior service as one of the following: state party officer, committee chair, county officer, legislative district chair, or a former filed UUP candidate for public office.
b) Candidates for State Party Treasurer or State Party Secretary shall either submit a petition with signatures from 25 current party members or have prior service as one of the following: state party officer, committee member, legislative district chair, county officer, precinct chair, former filed UUP candidate for public office.
Section 5 – Voting at Convention for Party Officials
a) When voting at conventions, approval voting, secret ballots, and ranked-choice voting may be used, as appropriate.
b) Ranked choice voting is appropriate when there are three or more candidates for a specific office and is conducted as follows:
1)Ballots are distributed with all candidates listed, and delegates are given the opportunity to rank their candidates by choice-- “1” being first choice, “2” being second choice, etc.
2) After counting votes based on delegates’ first choices, if one candidate garners more than 50% of the vote, that candidate is declared elected to the office.
3) If no candidate garners more than 50% of the votes, the candidate with the lowest vote count is eliminated, and the ballots for the eliminated candidate are reassigned to the other candidates based on the voters’ second choices and tallied again. This process is repeated until one candidate garners a majority of the votes and is therefore elected to the office.
Section 6 – Submitting Party Officer Changes to the State
a) Upon elections of United Utah Party Executive Committee members, or when changes are made to the Executive Committee by appointment, names of new Executive Committee members shall be submitted to the Lt. Governor’s office within 7 days, as required by state law.
b) Upon elections in any United Utah county parties, or when changes are made in county party leadership positions by appointment, the names of the new county party officers shall be submitted to the Lt. Governor’s office within 7 days, as required by state law.
Part E – NOMINATION PROCESS FOR PUBLIC OFFICIALS
Section 1 – Filing for Office
With the exception of presidential and vice-presidential candidates, all United Utah candidates shall be registered members of the United Utah Party.
Section 2 – Filing for Office
All persons intending to become United Utah candidates at the Nominating Convention for any elected public office, except for United States President, Vice-President, or Lieutenant Governor of the State of Utah, shall file a statement of candidacy with either the County Clerk or Lieutenant Governor's Office, as appropriate.
Section 3 – Confirming Singular Nominees
If only one candidate declares candidacy for a specific office, that candidate shall be allowed to address the convention, delegates, or caucus, as appropriate, seeking confirmation of the United Utah Party nomination. Confirmation may be accomplished by a voice vote or by secret ballot in which the candidate receives the approval of greater than 50% of the votes cast. If a candidate fails to be approved by greater than 50% of the votes cast, the United Utah Party shall not have a candidate for such office.
Section 4 – Delegate voting at the Nominating Convention
a) Where the number of candidates is greater than the number of nominees required for the next general election, there shall be nominating and seconding speeches made on behalf of the candidates, and the candidates shall be allowed to address the convention, delegates, or caucus, as appropriate. Then the delegates who reside in the district to be represented by the candidates shall vote by secret ballot.
b) The results of the ballot shall be determined as follows:
1) If a candidate receives 80 percent or more of the votes cast at the primary nominating convention, that candidate shall become the party's nominee for that elected office. Absent signature-gathering candidates, the United Utah nominee shall be placed on the ballot for the general election as the Party candidate.
(a) If one or more candidates gather the requisite number of signatures as provided by applicable state law, the United Utah nominee shall stand for election in the primary election.
(b) In an election between exactly two candidates at the nominating convention, if neither receives 80% or more of the votes, these two candidates shall stand for election on the primary election ballot.
2) When voting at nominating conventions, if more than two candidates are running for the same office, the following procedure shall be used:
(a) If more than two candidates seek the Party’s nomination for the same office and one candidate receives at least seventy percent of the votes cast, but less than eighty percent, the convention shall use a second ballot. The two candidates receiving the highest number of votes on the first ballot shall be placed on a second ballot.
(b) If one candidate receives eighty percent or more of the votes cast at the nominating convention on the second ballot, that candidate may become the party's nominee in the general election without the necessity of standing for election in the Primary Election, provided that no other candidate gathers the requisite number of signatures as provided by applicable state law.
(c) If, after the second ballot, no candidate has received eighty percent of the vote, then a primary election shall be held. Candidates who receive more than twenty percent of the vote on the second ballot shall be United Utah candidates in the primary election.
Section 5 –Open Primaries
All registered voters shall be eligible to vote a United Utah ballot in a primary election.
Section 6 - Nomination for Lieutenant Governor.
A Gubernatorial Candidate nominated by the Convention shall choose a Lieutenant Governor nominee who meets the eligibility requirements of the statutes and Constitution of the State of Utah. Nominees for Lieutenant Governor shall then file a statement of candidacy with the office of the Lieutenant Governor as required by law. Gubernatorial Candidates shall then run for election to that office on a joint ticket with their respective Lieutenant Governor nominees. In the election, the names of the candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor shall appear together on the ballot and the votes cast for a candidate for Governor shall be considered also cast for the candidate for Lieutenant Governor.
Section 7 – Presidential Nominees
The United Utah Party may endorse a presidential candidate and submit that candidate as the United Utah presidential nominee on the general election ballot as follows:
a) Candidates filing to run as the United Utah presidential nominee and running mate must qualify for the offices under all constitutional eligibility requirements and may not be endorsed by another political party.
b) Candidates file for the United Utah presidential nomination by submitting to the United Utah Party Secretary a one-page description of why they want to be the United Utah Party presidential nominee, including their names and contact information. Filing documents may be emailed or sent by US postal service.
c) All presidential candidates who have filed at least 30 days before the state convention:
1) shall submit the name of a running mate to the United Utah Party Secretary no less than one week before the state convention, and
2) shall be allowed to speak at any or all county party conventions of the United Utah Party, and
3) shall be presented at the United Utah state convention and allowed to deliver a five-minute speech to delegates prior to the vote for a United Utah presidential nominee.
d) The United Utah Party State Secretary, or designated member of the Executive Committee, shall announce candidates immediately upon receipt of the filing documents to all elected state and county party leaders and shall transmit the names of presidential candidates and their running mates to party members through the Party website, email, and social media.
e) A candidate receiving a majority vote of registered delegates at the state convention, shall be designated the United Utah Party presidential nominee.
1) If only one candidate files, registered convention delegates shall be given the option of voting for that candidate or “no presidential nominee at this time”.
2) If two or more candidates file, the Party shall use ranked choice voting, such that one option is “no presidential nominee at this time”.
3) If a majority of the registered convention delegates vote to reject all candidates, the convention presidential nomination process shall be closed.
f) If no presidential candidate is nominated at the state convention, the United Utah Executive Committee may select the United Utah presidential nominee as follows:
1) An eligible presidential candidate and running mate must file, as described in Subsection b), no later than August 1st to be considered by the Executive Committee.
2) A candidate who failed at the state convention is not eligible to file again for that office in the same year.
3) The presidential nomination shall be determined by a majority vote of the Executive Committee, held no later than August 10th.
g) If the party has a presidential nominee, the United Utah Executive Committee shall select six presidential electors and notify the State Elections Office of the Party’s presidential and vice-presidential nominees no later than August 15th or as required by State elections guidelines.
Section 8 –Candidate Vacancies and Public Official Midterm Vacancies
a) In the event that a United Utah candidate for public office discontinues his or her candidacy at a time and for reasons that allow the Party to replace the candidate, the Executive Committee shall name a qualified member of the Party to replace the candidate, according to state law.
b) In the event that a United Utah elected official leaves office midterm and the resulting vacancy is to be filled by appointment, the Executive Committee shall name one or more qualified members of the Party to fill the vacancy and submit the name, or names, to the Governor or county legislative body, as required by state law (See Utah Code Title 20A Chapter 1 Part 5).
c) The process to fill a vacancy resulting from the death, resignation or other cause, of a county, state or federal elected official affiliated with the United Utah Party, when election is required, shall be as follows, as consistent with state or federal law:
i) the State Party or County Party which provided the process for nominating the public official whose office is left vacant shall oversee the process for filling the vacancy; any member of the United Utah Party desiring to fill the vacancy shall be allowed to file a statement of candidacy with the State Party Secretary or the County Party Secretary, as appropriate.
b) A ballot listing the names of the candidates to fill the vacancy shall be prepared listing the names in an order determined by lot.
c) At the discretion of the Chair, and in accordance with the laws of the State of Utah, a meeting of delegates in that jurisdiction (state, district, or county) shall be convened to select nominees to fill the vacancy for transmission to the appropriate legal authority as soon as is practicable with a ten day written notice or at a regularly scheduled meeting. Each delegate shall be allowed to cast one ballot, selecting or ranking their choice of candidates. The person(s) receiving the highest number of votes shall be the nominee(s); and, in the event that two or more persons have an equal number of votes, the tie shall be decided by lot.
Section 9 – Endorsement of an unaffiliated candidate for public office
a) The United Utah Party may endorse an unaffiliated candidate for public office, as long as no candidate has filed a declaration of candidacy as a member of the United Utah Party for the same public office prior to the filing deadline, or if no candidate is nominated at the UUP nominating convention for that same public office
b) The process for endorsing an unaffiliated candidate for public office is as follows:
i) The UUP State Executive Committee may recommend the endorsement of an unaffiliated candidate for public office by majority vote
ii) The recommendation to endorse the candidate will be added to the agenda of the UUP state or county nominating convention for that elected office, or at a special convention of delegates if the nominating convention has already occurred in that election year, and notice of the proposed endorsement will be provided to delegates of that convention
iii) If one or more candidates have filed a declaration of candidacy with the UUP for an elected office, and the state party has recommended the endorsement of an unaffiliated candidate for that same elected office, and that recommendation is to be ratified at a nominating convention, a vote shall first be held at that nominating convention to decide whether to nominate the UUP candidate for that office, in accordance with Part E, Sections 3-4 of the bylaws
iv) If no candidate is nominated at the nominating convention for an elected office, and a majority of convention delegates approves the endorsement, the candidate is endorsed by the United Utah Party, and the UUP state party shall publicly announce the endorsement
c) The following considerations shall be taken into account by the UUP Executive Committee and delegates when deciding whether to endorse an unaffiliated candidate for public office, and shall be read before voting:
i) The candidate is well aligned with the values and platform of the United Utah Party
ii) The endorsement avoids the appearance of political gamesmanship
iii) The UUP benefits in greater or equal measure from the endorsement by association with the endorsed candidate
Part F – AMENDING THE UNITED UTAH PARTY PLATFORM
Section 1—Methods of Amending the Platform
Changes to the United Utah Party Platform may be initiated by grassroots submissions and by committee recommendations.
Section 2—Grassroots Submissions
A platform revision accompanied by the signatures of at least forty (40) party members may be submitted to the Executive Committee no less than 30 days prior to the state convention on odd-numbered years. The proposed revision shall be made available to state convention delegates, such that the delegates have time to consider the revisions before casting their votes at the convention.
Section 3— Platform Revision Committee Recommendations
a) During odd-numbered years, or at such other time as the Executive Committee determines is appropriate, the State Party Chair shall convene a platform revision committee at least three months prior to the anticipated state convention. Together with the State Chair, this committee shall establish a transparent and inclusive process for soliciting proposed changes or alterations to the platform.
b) The Platform Revision Committee shall draft the changes into statements of platform revision and submit them to the Executive Committee no less than thirty days before the state convention.
c) Recommendations made by the Platform Revision Committee must be supported by at least 2/3 of the Executive Committee in order to be presented at a state convention.
Section 4 — Adoptions of Amendments
Any proposed change to the platform, whether proposed by the Platform Revision Committee or by grassroots submission, must receive affirmative votes from two-thirds (66.67%) of delegates voting at the convention to be adopted into the Platform.
Section 5 — Filing Platform Amendments with the State
Amendments to the Party Platform shall be submitted to the Lt. Governor’s office within 15 days of adoption, as required by state law.
Part G – AMENDING THE UNITED UTAH PARTY CONSTITUTION
Section 1 — Procedures for Amending the United Utah Party Constitution
a) Proposals for amending the United Utah Constitution shall be submitted in writing to the Executive Committee at least 20 days before an annual state convention.
b) Proposals that are approved by the Executive Committee or those that are received bearing the signatures of at least 50 delegates shall be published electronically on the Party’s website, no later than 7 days before the convention, and then voted on by the delegates at the convention.
c) Changes to the United Utah Party Constitution require approval by a 2/3 majority of Party delegates voting at a State Convention, as stated in the United Utah Constitution.
Section 2 -- Filing Party Constitution Amendments with the State
Amendments to the United Utah Party Constitution shall be submitted to the Lt. Governor’s office within 15 days of adoption, as required by state law.
Part H – AMENDING THE UNITED UTAH PARTY BYLAWS
Section 1 – Procedures for Amending the Party Bylaws
a) Motions to amend the United Utah Party Bylaws may be discussed in an Executive Committee meeting if all members receive the proposed amendments at least one week in advance of the meeting. The motion to amend may be amended during discussion.
b) Amendments may be adopted only if a ⅔ majority of the Executive Committee votes to approve the change(s).
Section 2 -- Filing Party Constitution Amendments with the State
Amendments to the United Utah Party Bylaws shall be submitted to the Lt. Governor’s office within 15 days of adoption, as required by state law.
Adopted February 5, 2020