HB 5919 Summary

• Eliminates prohibitions on signing multiple petitions for the same office and removes associated criminal penalties, allowing electors to sign petitions for more candidates than positions to be filled.

• Adds new sections 482a and 547 establishing that only the first signature counts if an elector signs the same petition multiple times, preventing duplicate signatures from invalidating petitions.

• Changes school board candidate filing deadlines from the twelfth Tuesday to the fifteenth Tuesday before elections and allows candidates to pay a $100 nonrefundable filing fee instead of collecting nominating petition signatures.

• Modifies petition warning language across multiple sections (482, 544c, 590h, 685, 957, 958) to remove references to restrictions on signing multiple petitions and signing penalties.

• Repeals section 547a of the 1954 election law and updates language in recall petition provisions (sections 957-958) to use gender-neutral terminology.