Utah ballot measure · November 3, 2026
Utah Constitutional Amendment (H.J.R. 10), explained
How proposed constitutional amendments must be published. A ballot measure is a yes-or-no question put directly to voters — no candidate is involved, and the wording on the ballot is the wording that becomes law. This page shows that wording first, then what it actually changes.
The official wordingWhat appears on the ballot. Everything below explains it.
The official ballot title had not been published at the time of writing. The amendment would change Article XXIII, Section 1 of the Utah Constitution so that the Legislature must cause a proposed amendment "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" — the struck words being replaced by the words that follow them. The Legislature's own description of the resolution is: "require a proposed constitutional amendment to be published, in a manner provided by statute, for 60 calendar days immediately preceding the general election."
What it actually means
Utah's constitution says a proposed amendment must be printed in a newspaper in every county for the two months before the election, or it does not count. In 2024 the Utah Supreme Court voided two amendments — A and D — because that had not been done properly; both appeared on ballots but no votes were counted. This amendment replaces the newspaper rule with a 60-day publication period "in a manner provided by statute." A companion law already passed, House Bill 481, would then require publication on the Utah Public Notice Website and the Legislature's own website instead.
If you vote YES
- Article XXIII, Section 1 would require publication of a proposed amendment for 60 calendar days immediately before the general election, in whatever manner the Legislature sets by statute.
- House Bill 481, signed in March 2025 and written to take effect only if this amendment passes, would make that a Class A Notice — published on the Utah Public Notice Website and the Legislature's website.
- The requirement to buy newspaper space in every county with a newspaper would end, along with its cost.
- The period changes slightly, from "two months" to a fixed 60 calendar days.
- The amendment would take effect January 1, 2027, so it would not apply to itself or to anything on this year's ballot.
If you vote NO
- Article XXIII, Section 1 keeps the newspaper requirement: 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 election.
- Failing to meet that requirement continues to invalidate an amendment, as it did for Amendments A and D in 2024, whose votes were not counted even though they were printed on ballots.
- The Legislature continues to bear the cost of buying that newspaper space for each amendment it refers.
- House Bill 481's online publication scheme never takes effect, because it is written to depend on this amendment passing.
The numbers that matter
- Publication requirement now
- A newspaper in every county with one, for two months before the election
- Publication requirement proposed
- 60 calendar days before the election, in a manner set by statute
- Legislative vote to refer
- House 70-0-5, Senate 29-0-0
- Amendments voided in 2024 for failing the requirement
- 2 (Amendments A and D)
Article XXIII, Section 1, Utah Constitution
Text of House Joint Resolution 10 as passed
Utah Legislature, 2025 General Session
Utah Supreme Court and Third District Court rulings, September and October 2024
What each side says0 for, 0 against — quoted, not summarised
Why supporters say YES
We found none published in the sources reviewed.
Why opponents say NO
We found none published in the sources reviewed.
What's genuinely uncertain
- No argument is shown here for either side. The resolution passed the House 70-0 and the Senate 29-0, and no campaign has been registered or located either for or against it. Rather than print a case for the amendment with nothing against it, this page shows neither. The case made in the Legislature was Rep. Anthony Loubet's: that daily newspaper reading is no longer how Utahns get notice.
- The official ballot title and the letter the Lieutenant Governor assigns to this amendment could not be located in any state publication, so the wording a voter will actually read is not reproduced here.
- Because the amendment moves the method of publication into statute, a future Legislature could change that method again without asking voters. How that power would be used is unknown.
- How much the newspaper requirement currently costs, and how much would be saved, was not published in any official estimate we could find.
The bottom line
Whether notice of a proposed constitutional amendment should still have to be bought in every county's newspaper, or whether the Legislature should be trusted to set the method — cheaper and more current notice against a safeguard that has twice voided amendments and is itself written into the constitution.
One neutral sentence describing the tradeoff — not a recommendation.
Sources (3)The numbers in the text above link here
- 12026 Proposed Constitutional Amendments (H.J.R. 10 and S.J.R. 2) — Utah State Legislature — le.utah.gov
- 2Utah Publication Requirements for Constitutional Amendments Measure (2026) — Ballotpedia — ballotpedia.org
- 3Utah constitutional amendment on publication requirements to appear on 2026 ballot — Ballotpedia News — news.ballotpedia.org
Checking it against the official text
The Utah Lieutenant Governor — Elections publishes the certified measures and, in most states, an official voter guide with fiscal notes. That is the authoritative version. Everything here is an explanation of it, not a substitute for it.
Confirm this with the official source
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Utah Lieutenant Governor — Elections.
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- Utah's 4th congressional district