The Edmunds Act restrictions are enforced regardless…

The Edmunds Act restrictions are enforced regardless of whether an individual is actually practicing polygamy, or merely states a belief in the Mormon doctrine of plural marriage without actually participating in it.

Following Congress’s passage of the act, all elected offices in the Utah Territory are vacated, an election board is formed to issue certificates to those who both deny a belief in polygamy and do not practice it, and new elections are held territory-wide.