A legislative audit released September 16 found that while Utah's election system remains diligent in improving, several county clerks failed to fully implement all required changes. The report identified compliance issues in Utah, Wasatch, and San Juan counties, noting that some clerks committed similar errors identified in previous audits.
Legislative auditors reported that they found no significant fraud in Utah's elections. However, they concluded that repeated deficiencies in certain counties indicate a need for greater oversight of election compliance. The audit noted that the lieutenant governor's office has prioritized assisting and supporting clerks over active enforcement, a approach that may have contributed to observed errors.
In Utah County, auditors found that the clerk's office did not fully comply with certain requirements regarding candidate nomination signature packets and post-election audit training. The report also identified inconsistent practices among poll workers regarding residency documentation and failures to document reconciliation discrepancies within the legally required timeframe. Additionally, auditors noted that the office did not establish policies to avoid conflicts of interest when processing candidate nomination petitions.
In Wasatch County, auditors identified several shortcomings in ballot chain of custody, reconciliation, and election audits. The report stated the county failed to implement certain attestation requirements and did not have two auditors conduct its 1% ballot signature audit as required. Auditors also found that a room used for processing ballots lacked the required camera monitoring and that staff did not use security seals on drop boxes. A single instance of a double vote was identified after it had been counted due to a manual data upload error.
San Juan County faced issues related to changing election requirements, including improper reconciliation processes and failures in ballot intake. The audit noted the county still does not use batch logs to track who handles batches of ballots, despite being flagged for this issue in 2024. Auditors also identified instances where poll workers provided incorrect information regarding voter residency updates.
Utah Lieutenant Governor Deidre Henderson stated in a written response that her office provides training and resources to help counties correct mistakes, but noted that frequent legislative changes make implementation a challenge. In Utah County, Clerk Aaron Davidson disagreed with the audit's findings, describing the report as nitpicking and arguing that such scrutiny could make it difficult to retain qualified election workers.
