The deadline is fast approaching for changing political party affiliations in Utah.
Utahns now only have until Jan. 9 to switch parties ahead of the state’s partisan March presidential and June primary races. The previous deadline, March 31, was moved up in presidential election years by the 2023 Legislature.
The Republican primary ballot is already shaping up to be highly competitive, with contests including a crowded field competing to be the party’s nominee to replace retiring U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney.
And former President Donald Trump and at least five GOP challengers to his bid for another term are set to be choices in the presidential preference poll that will be conducted at Republican caucus meetings held throughout the state on the evening of March.
But the Utah Republican Party closes elections to nonmembers.
That means Utahns who aren’t registered Republicans but want to participate in that party’s 2024 presidential caucus or primary election will need to change their party affiliation to the GOP by the new deadline.
Unaffiliated voters, however, can affiliate as Republicans as late as Election Day.
“We welcome anyone that wants to join the Republican Party and be a meaningful participant in articulating and defending our principles,” Utah GOP Chairman Robert Axson said.
As for Utahns who join just to vote in the presidential preference poll or in the primary election, Axson said “whatever initially entices them in, I would hope that they would find a place they are comfortable putting in roots.”
Candidates won’t formally declare for office until Jan. 2-8, so it is not clear what other political parties will have primaries. Democrats, Utah’s third-largest group of voters behind Republicans and unaffiliateds, hold open elections.
Ryan Cowley, director of elections for the state, said “it’s really hard to say” whether the new deadline for changing parties will be confusing to voters. He said most, if not all, county clerks have sent out information about it to voters.
“I think the clerks do a good job of messaging that out. And voters are used to having closed primaries, so we’re hopeful that it’s pretty smooth,” Cowley said. “But there’s always going to be some voters that get caught in it.”
Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman said her office reached out to voters over the holidays, with letters and postcards explaining what they need to do if they want to affiliate with a political party or change their current party affiliation.
“We tried our best, since this is a new year, a new law, to make sure that everybody’s aware,” Chapman said, adding voters should be able to make “the best decisions for ourselves so that we can have our voices heard.”
Utah lawmakers established the March 31 deadline for party changes after a former state Democratic Party chairman, Jim Dabakis, urged Utahns to follow his lead and join the GOP so they could vote in the hotly contested 2020 Republican gubernatorial primary.
In this year’s special 2nd Congressional District race to replace former Rep. Chris Stewart, the cutoff for changing party affiliation came as soon as the needed legislation to hold the election was signed into law.