Utah Law Will Make 300,000 Voter Registration Records Public in 2026

Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson sent letters to more than 300,000 Utah voters last week carrying an urgent message: the voter registration record previously shielded as "private" or "withheld" will become publicly accessible on May 25 under Senate Bill 153, signed into law by Gov. Spencer Cox earlier this year. For Summit County residents who received the notice, the window to apply for continued privacy protection closes May 6.

"We don't want anyone to worry when they see a letter from our office in their mailbox," Henderson said in a statement accompanying the notification campaign, though the practical stakes for thousands of affected voters are significant.

SB153, sponsored by Sen. John Johnson, R-North Ogden, eliminates the broad general privacy categories that an estimated 1.3 million Utahns had used at some point to keep their information off the public voter roll. Any voter whose record was classified as private before April 6 without a documented reason will see that record converted to public status on May 25. What becomes visible: full name, residential and mailing addresses, party affiliation, voter ID number, precinct assignment, voter status, and a history of which elections the voter participated in, though not how they voted.

The law preserves a narrower "at-risk" designation, but qualifying requires documentation. Eligible categories include victims or threatened victims of domestic or intimate partner violence, law enforcement officers, military members, public figures who have received documented threats, and individuals protected by a court order. Voters who believe they qualify must submit an at-risk designation form to the Summit County Clerk's office by May 6, three weeks before records go public. Those who miss the deadline or fall outside the statutory criteria will have their information added to the public file, which is available on request and for a fee to campaigns, researchers, journalists, and others.

Johnson argued the bill brings Utah into alignment with federal transparency standards for voter rolls. Critics have raised concerns that collapsing the general private category puts vulnerable residents at elevated risk if they are unaware of the deadline or cannot quickly document their eligibility.

For Summit County, a destination community where second-home owners and year-round residents alike appear on the voter roll, the exposure extends beyond individual safety concerns. Public voter registration lists are regularly used by political campaigns for targeted outreach, a practice many residents who had opted into private status were specifically trying to avoid. The League of Women Voters of Utah has published guidance on how to navigate the at-risk application process at lwvutah.org.

Voters with questions or who need the at-risk designation form can contact the Summit County Clerk's office directly. Henderson's office has urged anyone who believes they should remain protected to reach out well before May 6, rather than waiting to see whether their record changes when the law takes full effect on May 25.