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Ballot Explained

Utah ballot measure · November 3, 2026

Utah Constitutional Amendment (S.J.R. 2), explained

60% vote required for tax-raising initiatives. 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 itself would add the following to Article VI, Section 1 of the Utah Constitution: "Notwithstanding Subsection (2)(a)(i)(A), initiated legislation that is subject to a vote that occurs after November 1, 2026, shall be adopted upon approval of at least 60% of those voting on the legislation if the initiated legislation includes: (A) the imposition of a new tax; (B) an expansion of an existing tax to include additional items or transactions subject to the tax; (C) an increase in an existing tax rate; or (D) for a property tax, a change to the tax rate that causes the tax rate to decrease less than it would under current law." The Legislature's own description of the resolution is: "provide the circumstances under which a higher percentage of voters than a majority must approve a statewide initiative that proposes to impose a new tax or to increase the rate of an existing tax or the amount of revenue collected."

What it actually means

In Utah, citizens cannot amend the constitution by petition, but they can pass ordinary laws by initiative, and those pass with a simple majority. This amendment carves out an exception: an initiative that creates a tax, widens an existing tax to new goods or transactions, raises a tax rate, or cuts a property tax rate by less than current law would, must win 60% of the vote instead of 50% plus one. Initiatives on any other subject, and laws the Legislature itself passes — including tax increases — keep the simple-majority rule.

Y

If you vote YES

  • A citizen initiative that imposes a new tax, expands an existing tax, raises a rate, or slows a scheduled property tax cut would need at least 60% of those voting on it to become law.
  • Every other initiative would still pass on a simple majority, except wildlife-taking initiatives, which already require two-thirds.
  • The Legislature would remain able to raise the same taxes by ordinary majority vote in both chambers.
  • The threshold would apply to initiatives voted on after November 1, 2026, and the amendment takes effect November 23, 2026. No tax initiative qualified for the 2026 ballot, so nothing on this year's ballot is affected.
  • Utah would join Arizona and Florida among states that set a higher bar specifically for tax measures.
N

If you vote NO

  • Article VI, Section 1 keeps its current wording: an initiative is "submitted to the people for adoption upon a majority vote of those voting on the legislation."
  • A tax-raising initiative would continue to pass with 50% plus one, the same threshold as any other initiative.
  • The two-thirds requirement already in the constitution for initiatives about taking wildlife stays, and is unaffected either way.
  • The other barriers to Utah initiatives stay as they are: roughly 141,000 valid signatures for a direct initiative, distribution requirements, and the signature and filing rules tightened by the Legislature in 2025.
The numbers that matter
Threshold now
Majority of those voting on the initiative

Article VI, Section 1, Utah Constitution

Threshold proposed for tax initiatives
60% of those voting on the initiative

Text of Senate Joint Resolution 2 as passed

Legislative vote to refer
Senate 21-8, House 55-17-3

Utah Legislature, 2025 General Session

Effective date if approved
November 23, 2026

Contingent effective date in Senate Joint Resolution 2

What each side says3 for, 3 against — quoted, not summarised

Why supporters say YES

  • "This is a fairly simple resolution. It asks the citizens of Utah to consider, 'How easy do you want it to be to raise taxes on your neighbors?' … I think it makes more sense for tax increases to have very broad consensus. The power to tax is the power to destroy."

    — State Sen. Lincoln Fillmore (R-17), the resolution's sponsor

  • "We do believe this is in the best interest of the people and the taxpayers of Utah. We're going to have to talk about the fiscal issues that come up when we're trying to fund these things, and so if they have to get to that 60% threshold, they're going to have to make the case for why it's important."

    — Billy Hesterman, president, Utah Taxpayers Association

  • "I too find it ironic that where this Legislature is trying to give the people of this state the opportunity to have their voice heard by having this put on the ballot, that the Legislature could be attacked in the way that it's being attacked, saying that it's wanting to quiet the voice of the people of this state. I reject that notion."

    — State Rep. Jason Thompson (R-3)

Why opponents say NO

  • "It's unfair for us to say, 'Hey citizens, you require a higher threshold when you're raising taxes.' We're not imposing the same requirement on us as legislators."

    — State Rep. Andrew Stoddard (D-40)

  • "Utah's current ballot initiative process already includes a number of safeguards to ensure that only well-considered and well-supported initiatives make it onto the ballot and into law. The majority should be able to continue to act as a check on the legislature in this area as they do in other policy areas."

    — Chase Thomas, senior policy advisor, Alliance for a Better Utah

  • "We have seen over the past decade a concerted effort to make our constitutional right to ballot initiative near impossible to exercise. This bill is just one more roadblock in people's ability to exercise that right that's in our constitution and constitutionally protected."

    — Katie Wright, executive director, Better Boundaries

What's genuinely uncertain
  • 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. What is quoted above is the text of the amendment itself and the Legislature's own description of it.
  • Whether clause (D) — a property tax rate change "that causes the tax rate to decrease less than it would under current law" — would in practice catch initiatives that nobody would describe as a tax increase has not been tested, and no court has interpreted it.
  • Who decides whether a given initiative falls inside the 60% rule, and at what stage, is not specified in the amendment.
  • No committee had registered to support or oppose the amendment as of September 2026, so there is no campaign finance record on either side.
  • The amendment applies to votes after November 1, 2026, but no tax-related initiative qualified for this year's ballot, so the retroactive-sounding date has no effect on anything now before voters.

The bottom line

Whether raising a tax by citizen initiative should need broad agreement rather than a bare majority — a higher bar against tax increases voters might regret, set against a rule the Legislature does not apply to its own tax votes.

One neutral sentence describing the tradeoff — not a recommendation.

Sources (4)The numbers in the text above link here
  1. 12026 Proposed Constitutional Amendments (H.J.R. 10 and S.J.R. 2) — Utah State Legislature — le.utah.gov
  2. 2Utah 60% Vote Requirement for Ballot Initiatives to Increase or Expand Taxes Amendment (2026) — Ballotpedia — ballotpedia.org
  3. 3Utah lawmakers move to set higher bar for ballot initiatives — but voters will have a say in 2026 — Utah News Dispatch — utahnewsdispatch.com
  4. 42026 Proposed Constitutional Amendments index — Utah State Legislature — le.utah.gov

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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