State & Local Government Policy, Business and Technology

Bill advances to allow voters to make their voting records private

The Salt Lake Tribune: By a single vote, the House voted Monday to allow voters to choose to make their voting registration records private — a seismic change in policy where the records now are generally public.

It voted 38-37 to endorse HB348, and sent it to the Senate.

The bill by Rep. Becky Edwards, R-North Salt Lake, originally sought to ban selling the state's voter registration list, and restrict who could have access to it.

She amended those provisions out, she said, after stiff opposition from political parties and others who want access to it. She said that includes banks and insurance agencies seeking to find new clients, and news media checking on voting histories.

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