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Senator Scott D. Sandall
Utah legislator profile

Years served in the Utah legislature

First session in legislature: 2015
Most recent year of service for which data are available: 2025
Total sessions served in Utah House as of 2025: 4
Total sessions served in Utah Senate as of 2025: 7

How to read the statistical profile

I present a variety of statistics about Sen. Scott D. Sandall's service in the Utah legislature. I highlight differences from chamber averages using little green and red arrows. The number of arrows is statistically determined. More arrows indicate a larger difference compared to the chamber average, in relation to how much diversity there is among legislators on this metric. If all legislators introduce exactly 5 bills, then a legislator who introduces 10 is very different; if legislators vary wildly in how many bills they introduce (but the average is still 5), then a legislator who introduces 10 bills may be less different from average. The standard deviation measures this diversity.

Sen. Sandall's statistical profile

20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Service summary. Service prior to 2007 (if any) is not shown here. My database goes back only to 2007.
  Chamber HouseHouseHouseHouseSenateSenateSenateSenateSenateSenateSenate
  District H1H1H1H1S17S17S17S17S1S1S1
  Party RRRRRRRRRRR
Leadership NoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNoneNone
Years in chamber 12341234567
Years comparison LowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLowerLower======
 
20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Bills sponsored (learn more) Bills written and promoted by the legislator in his/her own chamber.
Introduced by Sandall 34465696131214
Chamber average 6.77.06.77.1109.79.49.6111013
Difference -3.7-3.0-2.7-1.1-5.2-3.7-0.4-3.6+1.9+1.7+1.1
Comparison LowerLowerLower==LowerLower==Lower======
 
20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Bill passage rate (learn more). What percent of Sen. Sandall's sponsored bills pass and are officially "enrolled"? (I ignore whether the governor signed or vetoted the bill.)
Bills introduced 34465696131214
Bills passed 2344438612913
Passage rate 67%75%100%67%80%50%89%100%92%75%93%
Chamber average 63%54%61%53%78%70%71%71%72%72%60%
Difference +4.0+21+39+14+1.6-20.5+18+29+20+3.2+33
Comparison ==HigherHigherHigherHigher==LowerHigherHigherHigherHigher==HigherHigher
 
20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Bills floor sponsored. A "floor sponsor" is like a secondary sponsor of a bill. After a bill passes the sponsor's chamber, its sponsor needs to find a "floor sponsor" in the other chamber to usher it through the other chamber.
Total floor sponsored 122314151413212422
Chamber average 3.83.33.63.414131213151618
Difference -2.8-1.3-1.6-0.4+0.4+1.7+1.6-0.4+5.8+7.5+4.0
Comparison LowerLowerLower==========HigherHigherHigher
 
20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Missed votes (learn more). Usually missed votes occur because of competing obligations within the legislature, not because the legislator has left the capitol.
Missed votes 12241764404552479596365
Total votes held 6996577277349759109199311,0581,0691,105
Absentee rate 1.7%3.7%2.3%8.7%4.1%4.9%5.7%5.0%9.0%9.0%33%
Chamber average 6.3%6.4%5.2%8.0%11%11%8.0%12%13%13%14%
Difference -4.6-2.7-2.9+0.7-7.1-6.6-2.3-7.2-4.1-3.8+19
Comparison LowerLowerLower==LowerLowerLowerLower==LowerHigherHigher
 
20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
"Nay" votes (learn more). Most floor votes pass by overwhelming majorities, since unpopular bills get weeded out long before they reach the floor. As a result, "nay" votes are rare.
"Nay" votes 4849483837223316261724
Total votes held 6996577277349759109199311,0581,0691,105
"Nay" rate 6.9%7.5%6.6%5.2%3.8%2.4%3.6%1.7%2.5%1.6%2.2%
Chamber average 8.6%7.3%7.1%6.5%2.7%2.5%4.0%2.6%3.4%3.9%5.3%
Difference -1.7+0.2-0.5-1.3+1.1-0.1-0.4-0.9-0.9-2.3-3.1
Comparison Lower====LowerHigher====Lower==LowerLower
 
20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Winning side rate (learn more). What percentage of the time (excluding near-unanimous votes) is the legislator on the winning side of a floor vote?
Winning side rate 71%69%73%76%68%67%71%79%90%95%66%
Chamber average 67%66%67%66%70%71%70%71%74%74%67%
Difference +3.4+2.6+6.5+9.2-1.8-4.2+1.2+8.1+16+21-1.5
Comparison Higher==HigherHigher======HigherHigherHigher==
 
20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Ideology score (NOMINATE method) (learn more). Using W-NOMINATE algorithm developed by Congressional scholars, I calculate each legislator's relative ideology after each General Session. I describe the method here. Scores have no intrinsic meaning. They are only relative: A legislator with a higher score is to the right ideologically of a legislator with a lower scale. Scores may be compared only within a single chamber and a single year. In most years, a conservative Republican will have a score above 0; a score close to 100 is extreme.
Contact me for scores. They get misinterpreted often enough that I now provide them only to political scientists.
 
20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Party support score (overall) (learn more). How consistently does Sen. Sandall support his/her party? That is, what percentage of the time does the legislator vote with the majority of the other members of his/her party? Scores are usually easily above 90%.
Score (overall) 95%94%95%96%97%98%97%99%98%99%97%
Chamber average 94%95%95%94%98%98%97%98%98%98%97%
Difference +1.5-0.3-0.4+2.5-1.3+0.1-0.1+0.5-0.1+1.0+0.2
Comparison Higher======LowerLower========Higher==
 
20152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Party support score (party-line only) (learn more). This is the same as the "raw" party support score, but we look only at party-line votes when calculating this. A "party-line" vote occurs when the majority of Democrats votes against the majority of Republicans. Although party-line votes are rare, looking at the legislator's party support score in this setting can be revealing.
Score (party-line only) 85%89%88%82%91%94%89%87%93%99%89%
Chamber average 82%85%87%83%92%91%88%92%94%94%91%
Difference +3.3+3.2+1.2-0.9-0.7+3.2+0.7-5.0-1.2+5.0-1.7
Comparison ==Higher======Higher==Lower==HigherHigherLower

Votes on Sen. Sandall's bills

Many votes have been held on bills sponsored by Sen. Sandall. In the interest of space, I display only the most and least divisive votes held on Sen. Sandall's bills.

Sen. Sandall's most divisive bills

Listed below are the 10 votes on bills sponsored by Sen. Sandall that had the closest vote margin (as a percent of the total votes cast). When there are ties, I list the most recent bills first.

Year Sponsor Bill Ayes Nays Margin
(as % of total votes)
Type of vote
2021 Sandall SB0061S03 12 15 11% Senate/ failed
2023 Sandall SB0075S02 47 19 42% House/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Sandall SB0224S02 54 19 48% House/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Sandall SB0057S03 22 7 52% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Sandall SB0057S03 19 6 52% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2025 Sandall SB0336S03 54 16 54% House/ passed 3rd reading
2017 Sandall HB0219S02 55 16 55% House/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Sandall SB0224S02 21 6 56% Senate/ concurs with House amendment
2021 Sandall SJR007 56 15 58% House/ passed 3rd reading
2024 Sandall SB0224S02 23 6 59% Senate/ passed 3rd reading

Sen. Sandall's least divisive bills

Listed below are the 10 votes on bills sponsored by Sen. Sandall that had the widest vote margin (as a percent of the total votes cast). When there are ties, I display the most recent bills first.

Year Sponsor Bill Ayes Nays Margin
(as % of total votes)
Type of vote
2025 Sandall SB0283S01 71 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2025 Sandall SB0283S01 24 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2025 Sandall SB0283S01 24 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2025 Sandall SB0190 66 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2025 Sandall SB0190 26 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2025 Sandall SB0190 26 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2025 Sandall SB0172S01 61 0 100% House/ passed 3rd reading
2025 Sandall SB0172S01 27 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading
2025 Sandall SB0172S01 26 0 100% Senate/ passed 2nd reading
2025 Sandall SB0161S01 27 0 100% Senate/ passed 3rd reading