The Utah Supreme Court says state election officials must accept online petition signatures that are turned in to get individuals on the ballot.

The justices announced the unanimous decision Tuesday as voters went to the polls for primary elections.

The issue was raised by an independent candidate for governor. Farley Anderson's paperwork included more than 150 e-signatures and was rejected by the lieutenant governor's office.

Utah law acknowledges that electronic signatures are valid substitutes for handwritten ones, but the state attorney general's office argued that e-signatures could not be counted because election law only contemplates a paper-based system.

Farley's attorney argued that the state denied Farley his constitutional right to ballot access.