The Summit County Council adopted an ordinance Dec. 17 that moves a deadline for reporting campaign finances from 10 days before Election Day to 14 days.
“We think that will be beneficial, both to candidates, voters and our office, because that gives the most time prior to the election to get that information together and make it available to the public,” Summit County Clerk Eve Furse said. “And before things really get into the fray at the end of the election.”
The two-week deadline applies in both the general and primary elections for Summit County offices and local school boards. Cities, the state and the feds make their own rules.
The previous 10-day deadline was the default under Utah law, which also didn’t require financial disclosures prior to the county primary.
So 2026 will be the first time candidates must disclose campaign contributions and expenses before the Summit County and school board primaries.
“Previously, it was only at the general [election] that that was required,” Furse said. “Given that many races may be decided at the primary — if there's no opponent running from another party, or independently — we felt that that was important to make that information available to voters.”
The ordinance states “the county believes voters should have access to campaign finance information at the beginning of each voting period.”
That would be three weeks before Election Day, when ballots are mailed out. But state law only lets Summit County require financial disclosures two weeks out.
The new rules also empower the Summit County Clerk’s Office to issue proof of candidacy for people who decide to run before the window opens for them to officially file.
That way, they can open campaign bank accounts and track contributions and expenses from the very beginning. Furse says banks typically require proof of candidacy for those accounts.
The filing period for 2026 county elections opens at 8 a.m. Jan. 2 and closes at 5 p.m. Jan. 8. Two county council seats, the clerk, auditor, sheriff and attorney are on the ballot.
