SALT LAKE CITY — Utah lawmakers made it harder for political candidates to use a nickname on a ballot after Lucifer “Justin Case” Everylove qualified as a presidential candidate on last year’s state ballot.
SB54 requires candidates to jump through some extra hoops if they want to use a middle name or a nickname on a ballot to ensure the candidate actually goes by the name. It passed the Utah House 65-2 on Wednesday and awaits action from the governor.
“You may have noticed that Satan was on the ballot this last election cycle,” SB54 sponsor Sen. Stephanie Pitcher, D-Salt Lake City, told colleagues when presenting the bill earlier this month. “This bill imposes some guidelines to preserve the integrity of our election process to ensure only accurate legal names go on the ballot, or nicknames under certain circumstances.”
Pitcher wasn’t the only one who noticed — many voters wrote to KSL.com ahead of the 2024 presidential election expressing confusion about Everylove’s inclusion on the presidential ticket. His candidacy also drew attention on social media.
Pitcher’s bill requires county clerks to include a candidate’s legal first name followed by their surname. It allows nicknames before or after a candidate’s legal first name or middle name or in place of their first name, but only if the candidate submits a signed affidavit, under penalty of perjury, that “the candidate is generally known by acquaintances in the candidate’s county of residence by the nickname … and is not using the nickname to gain an advantage on the ballot.”
The candidate must also submit a similar affidavit sworn to by five residents of the candidate’s county, saying they do go by the nickname.
A nickname can only be added to the ballot if election officials determine it:
-
“Does not imply that the candidate is an individual other than the candidate, regardless of whether the individual is living or deceased.
-
“Does not constitute a slogan.
-
“Does not associate the candidate with an economic, religious, political or other group, issue or opinion.
-
“Is not offensive, profane or spurious.
-
“Is not a title, rank, degree, certification, job description or similar designation.”
Candidates would not need to go through the same affidavit process if the nickname they hope to use is a common derivative of their legal first or middle name.
For his part, Everylove told KSL in October that his name reflects his identity and said it was legally changed five years prior. Utah was the only state where Everylove qualified for the presidential election ballot. He earned 2,653 votes in the Nov. 5, 2024, general election — or about 0.18% of the total votes cast.
Everylove did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Everylove is not the only candidate in Utah to use a nickname on the ballot. Former state auditor John Dougall’s name appeared on several ballots as John “Frugal” Dougall — including during his run for Utah’s 3rd Congressional District seat last year. HB54’s House sponsor implied a candidate like Dougall would likely be able to continue to use that nickname on the ballot, given how commonly he is known by it.
“There are some former elected officials who use slogans as part of their name — enough people call them that they could probably still get away with that,” Rep. Stephanie Gricius, R-Eagle Mountain, said Wednesday. “However, things like Lucifer would probably not, unless that’s the name that they were commonly known by.”
The 2025 general legislative session ends March 7.
