http://www.sltrib.com/news/ci_15214033 Utah Supreme Court hears ballot access case Politics ; Court asked to determine whether they count in qualifying candidates for ballot. By Cathy McKitrick The Salt Lake Tribune Updated: 06/02/2010 06:58:38 PM MDT The use of electronic signatures in support of independent candidates and initiative petitions now lies in the hands of Utah's high court. State Supreme Court justices, joined by 2nd District Judge Glen Dawson -- sitting in for retired Justice Michael Wilkins -- heard arguments Wednesday in the Anderson v. Bell case. The justices took the matter under advisement and will rule later. Plaintiff Farley Anderson, an aspiring candidate for governor, asked for an expedited ruling so that, if he prevails, he can campaign. "The people of Utah should have an alternative choice come this November," Anderson said Lt. Gov. Greg Bell last March rejected Anderson as an unaffiliated candidate because a small portion of his requisite 1,000 signatures had been gathered online through the "I-Sign" system developed by Kanosh businessman Steve Maxfield. Assistant Attorney General Thom Roberts argued the statute dealing with candidate nominations is paper-based. Roberts held up a list of typed names that had evidently been submitted electronically. "Those don't look like signatures," Roberts said, questioning the lack of evidence to confirm their veracity. "Did any one individual make a mark on a paper saying I intend this to be my signature?" Roberts asked. "There's nothing -- all there is is a typed list of names." Chief Justice Christine Durham countered that all someone could tell from a hand-signed list is that the Advertisement signatures look different from one another. "You don't know who placed them there, whether they're forgeries, whether someone signed for somebody else," Durham said. "You know nothing other than that they are signatures." Roberts said he was troubled by the idea that Anderson's neighbors could call in their support and ask him to sign their names. That could happen under the paper process as well, Durham said. And if all the signatures resemble each other, "Mr. Anderson will get wise and start writing with his left hand," Durham said, eliciting laughter in the crowded courtroom. The state's legal definition of signatures extends to electronic approvals, and Attorney Brent Manning -- brought on by the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah to represent Anderson -- argued that Bell overstepped his legal authority. "We are operating in completely undirected territory in that the lieutenant governor has taken it upon himself to invalidate lawful signatures in this state," Manning said, noting it raises "severe constitutional issues." The group Utahns for Ethical Government is seeking permission to file a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, arguing that electronic signatures should be allowed not only in qualifying candidates for the ballot, but also initiative petitions. Outside the courtroom, Anderson voiced confidence in the outcome. "I felt we were in very capable legal hands and that the argument was clear," Anderson said. "If they consider strictly the issue of 'did we meet the statutory scheme?,' we will certainly prevail." Current state law allows government agencies to use electronic signatures once they have the appropriate security protocols in place, Roberts said, adding such processes have not been established for candidates and ballot issues. Maxfield defended the safeguards installed in his trademarked I-Sign system, noting Mark Thomas, office administrator for the lieutenant governor, had given him suggestions on how to develop it. "Everything was designed originally to make sure that the electronic signatures not only met the paper standards but exceeded them," Maxfield told The Tribune . Roberts questioned whether Thomas's advice to Maxfield constituted a real collaborative effort. "It's my understanding there was some communication between the two," Roberts said, "but in terms of working together to agree on a system, I think that that was not the case." Paul Neuenschwander , Bell's chief of staff, agreed. "We'll need computer experts who know what they're talking about -- the professionalism has yet to be established," Neuenschwander said. No state currently recognizes electronic signatures to qualify candidates for the ballot, according to the Associated Press. cmckitrick@sltrib.com
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J.A. Terranson