State auditor to review Davis County Clerk’s Office signature validation process
Aug 20, 2024, 12:54 PM | Updated: Aug 21, 2024, 4:40 pm
Utah Rep. Phil Lyman speaks as he debates with incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox during Utah's gubernatorial GOP primary debate held at the Eccles Broadcast Center in Salt Lake City on Tuesday. (Isaac Hale/Deseret News)
(Isaac Hale/Deseret News)
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to reflect that there are two audits at play in this scenario. Four GOP nominees requested the Utah State Legislature perform an audit of signatures in Davis County. This story is about the Utah State Auditor performing a separate audit.
SAVIS COUNTY, Utah — Utah State Auditor John Dougall confirmed he will look into the signatures gathered by candidates and certified by the Davis County Clerk’s Office this election cycle.
This comes a day after four different GOP nominees requested the Utah State Legislature do its own audit on Monday. Those requesting that audit include Gov. Spencer Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, GOP nominee for Attorney General Derek Brown, and U.S. Senate nominee Rep. John Curtis. They said they believe the audit will confirm that the Davis County Clerk’s Office followed proper laws and verification processes.
The signatures have been the center of controversy since Cox was put on the ballot earlier this year.
His opponent from the primary, Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, sued to get access to the signatures back in June, but it was quickly dismissed. Lyman’s campaign said that the amount of signatures validated is suspicious.
We commend our county election officials for the work they do — especially the Davis County Clerk’s Office who counted and verified all signatures in statewide and multi-county races. We trust our county clerks and are committed to addressing any issues found to enhance the process,” a statement from the four GOP nominees said.
Davis County Clerk Brian McKenzie responded to the request in a statement that said he welcomes the audit.
I reaffirm that each signature was reviewed by trained election workers and either validated or rejected in accordance with the requirements set forth by Utah Law, and I echo the statement that ‘we believe this audit will confirm that proper signature verification laws and procedures were following,” McKenzie’s statement read.
