Utah Rep. who called for Utah election audit resigns

WEST JORDAN, Utah — State Rep. Stephen Christiansen, R-West Jordan, emailed a late-night resignation to state leadership on Thursday night.

Christiansen said the step away from Utah’s Capitol Hill was because of all the attacks on his family after his call for a statewide audit on the Utah election.

He said he expected to be maligned and ridiculed as a public servant but did not expect to see people attack his wife and see the impact of those attacks on her and their family.

 

This evening, Rep. Steve Christiansen resigned from the Legislature. We wish him the best in his future endeavors. pic.twitter.com/ov0rGI6wO2

— Utah House Majority (@utahhousereps) October 29, 2021

Those attacks came after he asked for an elections audit in Utah similar to the one that took place in Arizona to see how the 2020 election went. Christiansen visited Arizona during their audit and said a widespread audit in Utah would confirm that the state’s elections are indeed free and fair.

Unlike the tight race in Arizona, Pres. Donald Trump won Utah with 865,140 votes to Pres. Biden’s 560,282. Utah’s governor and lieutenant governor have also both said Utah’s elections are secure.

In a statement after Christiansen’s call, both Gov. Cox and Lt. Gov. Henderson said, 

We are frustrated by the misinformation that was presented in the Judiciary Interim Committee today… All of these assertions are absolute falsehoods and run counter to Utah law and the foundation of our constitutional republic. 

We recognize some voters have legitimate questions about our elections and we invite all citizens to be involved in our local elections to see the process first-hand.

But make no mistake: There is absolutely no evidence of election fraud in Utah.

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