(KCPW News) Utah lawmakers on Friday advanced a measure that would let prospective candidates for political office get on the ballot, even if they can’t file in person. Rep. Craig Hall’s House Bill113 would give individuals temporarily outside of Utah the option to file electronically as long as they appeared before an elections official via a video link.
The bill would fix a problem encountered by Dr. Chia-Chi Teng, a Brigham Young University professor who wanted to run in the special election to replace Rep. Jason Chaffetz in Utah’s 3rd Congressional District last November.
Teng was in China during the filing period and sent his son to the Lieutenant Governor’s office in his stead. He also appeared via video on his son’s phone. Still, Teng’s candidacy was rejected due to state code that says prospective candidates must file in the flesh.
In a meeting of the House Government Operations Committee, Hall said his bill was about modernizing state election processes.
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