Utah Lt. Gov. extends filing deadline for unaffiliated presidential candidates

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said she will extend a filing deadline, and will not reject certificates of nomination for unaffiliated presidential candidates who don’t meet a Jan. 8, 2024 deadline.

Henderson has agreed to extend the Utah filing deadline, allowing unaffiliated presidential candidates to file through March 5, 2024.

Earlier this week, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., an Independent presidential candidate, filed a lawsuit against Utah election officials. As reported by KSL.com, in the suit, Kennedy claimed that the Utah filing deadline of  Jan. 8 deadline was “too restrictive.”

In his lawsuit, Kennedy claimed that the Jan. 8 deadline violated his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights.

In an email to the media, a representative from Henderson’s office said the Lt. Gov. had consulted with Judge David Nuffer, a senior U.S. District Judge in Washington County, about the issue.

“This decision has been made in the spirit of affording every reasonable opportunity for unaffiliated presidential candidates to participate in our general election,” Henderson’s office said in an email.

“Key legislators are aware of the potential problems with the current statute. I am confident these issues will be addressed in the upcoming legislative session.”

Lt Gov Filing Extension by Simone Seikaly on Scribd

 

In 2022, Utah lawmakers amended the state election schedule and changed the deadline in question from August 15 to Jan. 8.

In court documents, Henderson said that “until at least March 5, 2024, they will not reject any unaffiliated candidate’s Certificate of Nomination to be placed on the ballot in Utah for the office of President of the United States, simply because the Certificate and verified nomination petitions were not filed by Jan. 8, 2024.”

 

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