SALT LAKE CITY — There could be as many as five Republicans on the GOP primary ballot this August — and up to three Democrats on the Democratic ballot — in the race to replace U.S. Rep. Jason Chaffetz.

Utah voters are used to choosing between just two names on a primary election ballot, but with 22 candidates in a special election being conducted under a relatively new nomination process, that could change.

The controversial law known as SB54 that took effect last year allows candidates to gather voter signatures to guarantee a spot on the primary ballot and bypass the political parties' traditional caucus and convention system for nominating candidates.

"I think voters, they don't mind having the options," State Election Director Mark Thomas said of what could be lengthy ballots. "We'll see how they react. It certainly is long for any one race. But it might be whittled down."

Gov. Gary Herbert wanted to follow the regular election process for filling a congressional vacancy to ensure a contested race, Thomas said, while GOP legislative leaders preferred leaving the nomination process up to party delegates.

But Thomas said while he expects there will be a primary election, it's not a given.

Both the Republican and Democratic parties are holding conventions on June 17 to nominate candidates, and both parties will choose a single nominee to fill the District 3 vacancy under special election rules.

Usually, only candidates at a party convention who have the support of at least 60 percent of the delegates advance to the general election ballot. Otherwise, the top two finishers faceoff in a primary.

Those races will eliminate at least 10 and maybe all 11 of the Republicans who aren't gathering signatures since two of the four Republicans who chose the new route to the ballot are also competing at convention.

On the Democratic side, two of the four candidates are running only at convention and two are also hoping to get on the ballot by collecting the 7,000 voters names needed by June 12.

Thomas said getting that many voters to sign a petition in such a short time won't be easy, particularly since voters are only allowed to back a single candidate in the race.

"It's certainly not impossible, but it's going to be very difficult," he said.

Chris Karpowitz, co-director of BYU's Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy, said gathering signatures will be a test of a candidate's financial resources and organizational skills.

"I don't know how many of the candidates will be able to pull that off," Karpowitz said, and with most candidates running only at convention, "that puts additional responsibility on the shoulder of the delegates" to winnow the field.

While "an open seat attracts candidates like moths to flame," he said, even with a substantially smaller number of candidates, there could still be enough names on a primary ballot to make the election more complicated for voters.

"That's part of the challenge of this hybrid system we have," Karpowitz said. Without the convention selection process, he said there may have to be some type of runoff election.

New Utah GOP Chairman Rob Anderson said having as many as five Republicans on a primary election ballot is "an issue we knew was going to happen when SB54 was passed."

Anderson said he doesn't want to see the party treat GOP candidates who gather signatures differently from those who take the convention-only route. But he said some delegates are already condemning candidates who are gathering signatures.

"Personally, I have no intention to differentiate Republican from Republican," he said, calling the competitive race good for the party. "It gets everyone involved... One of of my goals is to get more people talking about politics."

Outgoing Utah Democratic Party Chairman Peter Corroon said it will be tough for candidates to make the deadline for collecting voting signatures without hiring costly professional help, but it's "too early to tell" if there will be a Democratic primary.

Corroon said he expects Democrats to be more pragmatic and less political in choosing their nominee, but for the GOP, "it will be a three-ring circus for a couple of months. It reminds me a little bit of the presidential campaign."

Earlier this month, Chaffetz announced he was stepping down June 30 for a private sector position believed to be with Fox News earlier this month. That left candidates affiliated with a political party just a week to file to run for the five-term Republican's seat.

Two Independent American Party candidates have already filed, but it is not yet known if they will be in a primary.Unaffiliated candidates have until June 12 to declare their candidacy, so there could be more names on the general election ballot.

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