Contents

1 2012 Elections
2 Eligibility to Vote
2.1 Primary election
2.2 General election
3 Voting absentee
3.1 Eligibility
3.2 Deadlines
3.3 Military and overseas voting
4 Voting early
5 See also
6 References

The state of Utah held elections in 2012. Below are the dates of note:

Signature filing deadline: March 16, 2012 & April 15, 2012 (Measures only)
Primary date: June 26, 2012
General election date: November 6, 2012

On the 2012 ballot
U.S. Senate (1 seat)	a	Preview Article
U.S. House (4 seats)	a	Preview Article
State Executives (5 seats)	a	Preview Article
State Senate (16 seats)	a	Preview Article
State House (75 seats)	a	Preview Article
Ballot measures (0 measures)	a	Preview Article

2012 Elections[edit]

Note: Election information listed on this page does not pertain to 2012 presidential elections. For more about Ballotpedia's areas of coverage, click here.
For election results in the 50 states, see our November 6, 2012 election results page

Elections by type[edit]

U.S. Senate[edit]

Other elections
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See also: United States Senate elections in Utah, 2012

**U.S. Senate, Utah, General Election, 2012**
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Orrin G. Hatch Incumbent	65.8%	657,608
	Democratic	Scott Howell	30.2%	301,873
	Constitution	Shaun Lynn McCausland	3.2%	31,905
	Utah Justice	Daniel Geery	0.8%	8,342
	Independent	Bill Barron	0%	0
Total Votes				999,728
Source: Utah Lieutenant Governor, "2012 General Election Results"

U.S. House[edit]

See also: United States House of Representatives elections in Utah, 2012

Members of the U.S. House from Utah -- Partisan Breakdown
Party		As of November 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	1	1
	Republican Party	2	3
Total		3	4

District	General Election Candidates	Incumbent	2012 Winner	Partisan Switch?
1st	Donna McAleer Rob Bishop Sherry Phipps	Rob Bishop	Rob Bishop	No
2nd	Jay Seegmiller Chris Stewart Jonathan Garrard Joseph Andrade Charles Kimball	Jim Matheson	Chris Stewart	Yes
3rd	Soren Simonsen Jason Chaffetz	Jason Chaffetz	Jason Chaffetz	No
4th	Jim Matheson Mia Love Jim Vein	N/A	Jim Matheson	No

State Executives[edit]

See also: Utah state executive official elections, 2012

There were five state executive positions up for election.

Governor
Lieutenant Governor
Attorney General
Treasurer
State Auditor

Governor of Utah General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Peter Cooke and Vince Rampton	27.7%	253,514
	Republican	Gary Herbert and Greg Bell Incumbent	68.4%	624,678
	Libertarian	Ken Larsen and Rob Latham	2.2%	19,956
	Constitution	Kirk Pearson and Tim Alders	1.7%	15,548
Total Votes				913,696
Election results via State of Utah

Attorney General of Utah General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Dee W. Smith	30.1%	269,893
	Republican	John Swallow	64.6%	579,118
	Libertarian	W. Andrew McCullough	5.3%	47,347
Total Votes				896,358
Election results via Utah Lieutenant Governor (dead link)

Utah State Auditor General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Mark Sage	29.5%	259,576
	Republican	John Dougall	65.4%	575,677
	Constitution	Richard Proctor	5.2%	45,373
Total Votes				880,626
Election results via Utah Lieutenant Governor (dead link)

Utah Treasurer General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Christopher Stout	28.1%	247,277
	Republican	Richard Ellis Incumbent	66.9%	589,045
	Libertarian	Vincent Marcus	5%	44,257
Total Votes				880,579
Election results via Utah Lieutenant Governor (dead link)

State Senate[edit]

See also: Utah State Senate elections, 2012

Heading into the election, Republicans maintained partisan control in the state senate.

Utah State Senate
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	7	5
	Republican Party	22	24
Total		29	29

State House[edit]

See also: Utah House of Representatives elections, 2012

Utah House of Representatives
Party		As of November 5, 2012	After the 2012 Election
	Democratic Party	17	14
	Republican Party	58	61
Total		75	75

Ballot measures[edit]

See also: Utah 2012 ballot measures

Type	Title	Subject	Description	Result
LRCA	Amendment A	Taxes	Require a portion of the revenue from all of the state's severance taxes to be deposited into the permanent state trust fund	a
LRCA	Amendment B	Taxes	Exempt military personnel from paying property taxes.	a

Eligibility to Vote[edit]

Primary election[edit]

See also: Voting in the 2012 primary elections

Utah used a partially open primary system; Republicans had a closed primary, and Democrats and independents could both vote in the Democratic primary. Both parties held conventions before the primary. Voters were required to register to vote in the primary by June 11, 2012, which was 15 days before the primary took place , or by May 29, 2012 for mail-in registration.^[1] (Information about registering to vote)

General election[edit]

See also: Voting in the 2012 general elections

The deadline to register to vote was 28 days prior to the election day, which in 2012 was October 9. October 22, or 15 days prior to election, was the deadline if registering in person.^[2]

Note: Some states had a voter registration deadline 30 days prior to the election but because this could have fallen on a weekend and Columbus Day was on Monday, October 8th, some extended the deadline to October 9, 2012.

Voter ID info
Residency requirements: Resident of Utah for at least 30 days.^[3]
Same-day registration: None

Voting absentee[edit]

See also: Absentee Voting

Utah is an all-mail voting state. All registered Utah voters are mailed a ballot before the election. No request is necessary. Completed ballots can be returned in person to a vote center, deposited into a local drop box, or returned by mail. If mailed, completed ballots must be received by 8 p.m. on Election Day.^[4]^[5]

Note: Starting in 2029, Utah will require voters to request an absentee/mail-in ballot. Click here for more information.

Voting early[edit]

See also: Early voting

Utah is one of 34 states that have early voting with no specific requirements as to who can vote early. Early voting begins 14 days before an election and ends the Friday prior to Election Day. The average number of days prior to an election that voters can cast an early ballot is 21 days in states with a definitive starting date.^[6]^[7]

Footnotes[edit]

↑ State of Utah, "Deadlines," accessed April 19, 2012
↑ Vote Utah, "Registration to Vote Deadlines" accessed May 11, 2012
↑ Vote Utah, "Registration Requirements" accessed May 11, 2012
↑ State of Utah, "Learn more about voting by mail," accessed October 31, 2025
↑ Utah State Legislature, "H.B. 300 Amendments to Election Law," accessed October 31, 2025
↑ Long Distance Voter, "Early Voting Rules," accessed December 16, 2013
↑ Utah Code, "Title 20A, Chapter 3, Section 601," accessed December 16, 2013

[1] State of Utah, "Deadlines," accessed April 19, 2012

[2] Vote Utah, "Registration to Vote Deadlines" accessed May 11, 2012

[3] Vote Utah, "Registration Requirements" accessed May 11, 2012

[utabs-4] State of Utah, "Learn more about voting by mail," accessed October 31, 2025

[hb300-5] Utah State Legislature, "H.B. 300 Amendments to Election Law," accessed October 31, 2025

[6] Long Distance Voter, "Early Voting Rules," accessed December 16, 2013

[7] Utah Code, "Title 20A, Chapter 3, Section 601," accessed December 16, 2013

Utah Elections, 2012