The clock is ticking for Gov. Spencer Cox to decide whether to call a special election this year so voters can decide whether to repeal a law that bans public employee unions from negotiating contracts with their government employers.
If no special session is called, the issue will appear before voters during the 2026 midterm elections.
The governor says he’s still weighing his options ahead of a June 21 deadline to decide. State law also allows the Legislature to call a special election, but a special legislative session would need to be convened in order to do that.
“We’re having conversations with lots of people, having conversations with the Legislature, having conversations with the county clerks who have to oversee those elections, and just trying to see what’s best,” Cox said Tuesday at his monthly news conference. “Is it best to get it on now and get it over with? Is that easier?”
One consideration is the additional cost that might come with a statewide special election where everyone has to have an opportunity to vote.
While many cities and towns across the state have municipal elections scheduled this November, those don’t cover unincorporated areas of a county, and, in many instances, do not even cover entire city populations.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Boxes of signatures are checked in at the Salt Lake County Clerk's office as labor leaders attempt to qualify a referendum repealing an anti-union bill, on Wednesday, April 16, 2025.
In Salt Lake City, for example, there is no mayoral election and four of the seven council seats are up this year, meaning voters in the other three council districts wouldn’t normally be voting.
In Salt Lake County, about 500,000 voters live in an area that has a scheduled municipal election, according to Lannie Chapman, the county clerk. If Cox calls a special election, ballots will need to be sent to roughly 100,000 additional voters. It would be up to the state to cover the extra costs associated with holding the special election.
In 2023, when a special election to replace retiring U.S. Rep Chris Stewart in the state’s 2nd Congressional District was added to the regular municipal elections, lawmakers appropriated $2.5 million to cover the additional election costs for that quarter of the state.
“What kind of a burden would that add? What would the cost be? We’re looking at all of those [issues],” Cox said. “We’ll make a decision as we get closer to this. It’s not off the table.”
House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, and Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said they have had talks with the governor and will have more. “As we determine the best path forward,” Adams said, “I believe it should remain an option.”
There is precedent for calling a special election for a referendum. In 2007, then-Gov. Jon Huntsman called a special election for a referendum to repeal the Legislature’s school voucher law. Voters overwhelmingly supported the repeal, voting nearly two-to-one against vouchers.
In addition to the cost, Damon Cann, head of the political science department at Utah State University, said there are practical considerations, like whether clerks can pull off an election on short notice.
“Then there’s the brute-force, straight-up politics of the situation,” Cann said, “and I would guess the Legislature and governor’s team are thinking about and wrestling over.”
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Gov. Spencer Cox answers questions from the media during his monthly news conference in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, June 10, 2025.
Turnout is usually considerably lower in municipal elections than in a midterm general election, although Cann said it’s hard to tell which side that might help.
A more practical consideration is how a surge in turnout in the 2026 election might impact candidates — all of the Utah House members, half of the senators and all four U.S. House members.
“It could be a disadvantage for legislators who voted in favor of terminating the collective bargaining rights to be on the ballot at the same time if there’s a groundswell of support,” Cann said. “There’s a little bit of a risk involved for incumbents who voted in favor of this legislation. And if you separate the election where you’re voting on the measure and the reelection of those incumbents, it gets them a little bit of breathing room.”
Utah has seen a surge in midterm turnout impact the outcome of elections. In 2018, when there were three ballot initiatives on the ballot — legalizing medical marijuana, expanding Medicaid coverage for low-income Utahns and banning partisan-driven gerrymandering — the usually tepid turnout in that midterm election spiked, leading not only to all three initiatives passing but also propelling Democrat Ben McAdams to a narrow victory in the 4th Congressional District race.
Last session, Republican lawmakers passed a bill banning government entities from negotiating with public employee unions, mainly impacting teachers, but also some police, firefighters, health care workers, librarians, and others.
Labor groups fought back, collecting more than 320,000 signatures in 30 days — 251,590 were deemed valid — from voters to put a measure on the ballot to repeal the law, making it the most successful signature-gathering effort in state history.
Now, those labor groups are awaiting Cox’s decision on when to hold the election, but are confident they will prevail no matter when the vote is held.
Hailey Higgins, spokesperson for the referendum effort, said the overwhelming showing to gather signatures “sends a powerful message: Utahns believe in the right to organize and stand with public workers.”
“No matter when this issue appears on the ballot, we are confident that when Utah voters decide, public workers will win,” she said. “We are strong, ready and united.”
Likewise, Cole Kelley, spokesperson for Utahns for Worker Freedom, which supports the Legislature’s law, said their group also doesn’t have a strong preference for when the election should be held.
“Our focus is on making sure Utahns understand what [the law] actually does: It ends exclusive union bargaining so all public employees — not just union members — have a voice,” he said. “It stops taxpayer dollars from funding private union operations and it gives teachers new, affordable insurance options. Once voters have the full picture, I’m confident they’ll support the law.”
