As used in this part:

1. (1)

   1. (a) "Clerk" means the lieutenant governor, a county clerk, municipal clerk, town clerk, city recorder, or municipal recorder.
   2. (b) "Clerk" includes a board of trustees under Title 17B, Chapter 1, Provisions Applicable to All Special Districts.

2. (2) "Local petition" means:

   1. (a) a manual or electronic local initiative petition described in Chapter 7, Part 5, Local Initiatives - Procedures; or
   2. (b) a manual or electronic local referendum petition described in Chapter 7, Part 6, Local Referenda - Procedures.

3. (3) "Petition" means one of the following written requests, signed by registered voters, appealing to an authority with respect to a particular cause:

   1. (a) a local petition;
   2. (b) a petition to consolidate two or more municipalities under Section 10-2-601;
   3. (c) a petition for disincorporation of a municipality under Section 10-2-701;
   4. (d) a petition to incorporate a proposed municipality under Section 10-2a-208;
   5. (e) a petition to consolidate adjoining counties under Section 17-61-201;
   6. (f) a petition to annex a portion of a county to an adjoining county under Section 17-61-301;
   7. (g) a petition for the creation of a new county under Section 17-61-401;
   8. (h) a petition for the removal of a county seat under Section 17-60-302;
   9. (i) a petition for the adoption of an optional plan under Section 17-62-303;
   10. (j) a petition for the repeal of an optional plan under Section 17-62-505;
   11. (k) a petition to create a special district under Section 17B-1-203;
   12. (l) a petition to withdraw an area from a special district under Section 17B-1-504;
   13. (m) a petition to dissolve a special district under Section 17B-1-1303;
   14. (n) a petition for issuance of local building authority bonds under Section 17D-2-502;
   15. (o) a petition to become a registered political party under Section 20A-8-103;
   16. (p) a nomination petition for municipal office under Section 20A-9-203;
   17. (q) a nomination petition for a regular primary election under Subsection 20A-9-403(3)(a) and Section 20A-9-405;
   18. (r) a petition for a political party to qualify as a municipal political party under Section 20A-9-404;
   19. (s) a petition for the nomination of a qualified political party under Section 20A-9-408;
   20. (t) a nomination petition for a candidate not affiliated with a political party under Section 20A-9-502;
   21. (u) a nomination petition to become a delegate to a ratification convention under Section 20A-15-103;
   22. (v) a petition to create a new school district under Section 53G-3-301;
   23. (w) a petition to consolidate school districts under Section 53G-3-401;
   24. (x) a petition to transfer a portion of a school district to another district under Section 53G-3-501;
   25. (y) a petition to determine whether a privatization project agreement should be approved under Section 73-10d-4; or
   26. (z) a statewide petition.

4. (4) "Petition packet" means:

   1. (a) a candidate signature packet, as defined in Section 20A-9-401.1;
   2. (b) an initiative packet, as defined in Section 20A-7-101;
   3. (c) a referendum packet, as defined in Section 20A-7-101; or

   4. (d) any other packet of signature sheets that:

      1. (i) is bound together and circulated to gather signatures for a petition; and
      2. (ii) includes a cover sheet at the front of the packet and a circulator verification sheet at the end of the packet.

5. (5) "Statewide petition" means:

   1. (a) a manual or electronic statewide initiative petition described in Chapter 7, Part 2, Statewide Initiatives; or
   2. (b) a manual or electronic statewide referendum petition described in Chapter 7, Part 3, Statewide Referenda.

6. (6)

   1. (a) "Substantially similar name" means:

      1. (i) the given name, the surname, or both, provided by the individual with the individual's petition signature, contain only minor spelling differences when compared to the given name and surname shown on the official register;
      2. (ii) the surname provided by the individual with the individual's petition signature exactly matches the surname shown on the official register, and the given names differ only because one of the given names shown is a commonly used abbreviation or variation of the other;
      3. (iii) the surname provided by the individual with the individual's petition signature exactly matches the surname shown on the official register, and the given names differ only because one of the given names shown is accompanied by a first or middle initial or a middle name which is not shown on the other record; or
      4. (iv) the surname provided by the individual with the individual's petition signature exactly matches the surname shown on the official register, and the given names differ only because one of the given names shown is an alphabetically corresponding initial that has been provided in the place of a given name shown on the other record.
   2. (b) "Substantially similar name" does not include a name having an initial or a middle name provided by the individual with the individual's petition signature that does not match a different initial or middle name shown on the official register.

Amended by Chapter 293, 2026 General Session