Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- A South Jordan candidate faces challenges due to election code name rules.
- Rachel Lewis Jepperson can't use her known last name, Jepperson, on the ballot.
- State Sen. Stephanie Pitcher considers revising the law to include last names.
SOUTH JORDAN — A candidate for city council said she can't run for office using her preferred name because of a new election code.
Rachel Lewis Jepperson said her name is the issue. She said the new election code, which changes the name requirements on the ballot, doesn't allow her to use the last name she goes and is known by, Jepperson.
After she was married, she never legally changed her name, but she said she's used her husband's name professionally and personally for years.
"I had looked at changing it legally, but it just seemed like so many hurdles to go through," Lewis Jepperson said. "First, it's four to six weeks to change it with the Social Security office, and then you have to get a new driver's license, and then you have to register to vote. And then on top of that, there are all the other legal documents that, for your car, for your home, for your will, and all those other documents that you have that you'd have to go and change as well."
She said she didn't have enough time to legally change her name before the city council filing deadline because the process is lengthy.
"I filed as 'Rachel Lewis' because that was what was required, but I do think that there's an opportunity to look at the code to offer greater flexibility for people who use a different last name than what they go by," Lewis Jepperson said.
The new law only allows nicknames before or after the candidate's legal first name, or it can replace the first name, if they submit an affidavit they sign, as well as another affidavit signed by five residents of the same county they live in.
Those residents, who can't be immediate family, must agree that the candidate is generally known by that nickname.
Nicknames also can't be offensive, political, or imply the candidate is someone else, among other rules.
"There's still a great deal of flexibility for first name and middle names, but there is no exception on last name," Lewis Jepperson said. She was told, "It has to be the name that is on your driver's license."
The law comes after candidate Lucifer Everylove was listed on last year's ballot with the nickname "Justin Case."
State Sen. Stephanie Pitcher, D-Salt Lake City, who was behind this law, told lawmakers earlier this year that the rules help preserve the integrity of the election process.
Lewis Jepperson said she understands why the law is in place, but wishes there was more flexibility for last names.
"I think the direction they're going makes a lot of sense to help voters feel secure in how they're voting, and also not to confuse voters," she said. "But I do think that there's some room to just tweak it so that candidates can also go by the last name that they are currently using."
Lewis Jepperson said she called the state elections office about the issue. The lieutenant governor oversees elections in the state. The office declined an interview with KSL-TV.
"They mentioned that really the only options were to have it changed during the next legislative session or to take it to court," Lewis Jepperson said. "That's when I reached out to my local senator to see, like, if he'd be willing to look at sponsoring a bill to change it in the next legislative session."
Pitcher told KSL-TV she's reviewing that code. She said last names may be included in the nickname provision. If not, she said she would consider changing the language of the law.
