SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Auditor’s Office will conduct a “limited review” of the state’s election process after allegations of improper conduct were slammed over the summer by at least one candidate who lost a primary earlier this year.
State Auditor John Dougall announced Tuesday that the audit would focus only on certain aspects of the election process, “including the control and disclosure of voter registration information and the validation process related to candidate signature collection.”
Separately, a group of several GOP candidates, including Governor Spencer Cox and U.S. Senate candidate John Curtis, called for a legislative audit of the signature collection process used by the Davis County Clerk’s office. The process has been criticized by some who question how signatures are collected to get candidates on the primary ballot which did not receive enough support at the Republican National Convention this spring.
The group of candidates also includes Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson and candidate for Attorney General Derek Brown.
“We believe this audit will confirm that the proper signature verification laws and procedures were followed,” the group wrote in a statement. “We commend our county election officials for their work – especially the Davis County Clerk’s Office, which counted and verified all signatures in statewide and countywide elections.”
“We trust our district officials and are committed to addressing any issues found to improve the process.”
