Utah County clerk criticizes mail-in ballots, prompting backlash from state lawmaker
Nov 8, 2024, 7:02 PM
A voter holds a mail-in ballot in Provo on Friday, Nov. 4, 2022.(Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
(Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News)
PROVO, Utah — The Utah County clerk reiterated his disapproval of mail-in ballots this week, despite long waits for in-person voting in his area on Election Day.
Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson took to X to criticize the lieutenant governor along with other state and city leaders who support mail-in voting.
He said that if they hadn’t pushed for it, he could have counted 39 ballots that arrived with postmarks after the deadline.
Maybe if @mikemckellutah @Amelia4Utah & @DeidreHenderson hadn’t promoted returning ballots through the mail, these voters wouldn’t have been disenfranchised. Postmarked on the 5th. 39 w/o a postmark. Can’t count them. pic.twitter.com/CcbvgwKYMV
— Aaron Davidson (@ARDavidson) November 7, 2024
Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, Spanish Fork Rep. Mike McKell, and Utah County Commissioner Amelia Powers Gardner are all Republicans, as is Davidson.
Davidson’s post sparked a reply from Utah Sen. Todd Weiler, R-Woods Cross, also on X.
“You had one job,” he wrote, commenting on the in-person voting issues on election night in Utah County. Those included running out of printer ink and ballot paper, and voters standing in long lines.
Davidson told KSL on election night that the sheer number of in-person voters caught him by surprise.
“I have been promoting in-person voting, I’ve been promoting it. It hasn’t taken hold before until this election. It’s like they were on a fast [then] all of a sudden they are wanting to feast,” said Davidson.
Davidson also attributed long lines to in-person registration on the day of the election.
“You know, Utah’s one of the only states that does same-day registrations. Maybe we need to take a look at that,” said Davidson.
Weiler responds to mail-in ballot criticism
Weiler said he’s concerned about Davidson holding a position of power because he “doesn’t seem capable of responsibly handling them.”
The state senator also argued Davidson actively spread misinformation; under federal law, ballots need no postage.
“Thousands and thousands of ballots have not been returned because he’s misled people into believing they have to have a stamp. You know there are people that they’ll fill out their ballot and they’re like ‘Oh I don’t have a stamp.’ They set it aside and then they never mail it because they never get the stamp,” said Weiler.
As to Davidson blaming mail-in ballots and other officials, Weiler called it inappropriate. Weiler called it disappointing that Davidson would use his “pulpit to try to mock and scorn other elected officials.”
Related: Utah County Clerk says Utah Lt. Governor should be punished for “election fraud”
The lieutenant governor oversees elections in Utah and has repeatedly said mail-in voting is safe and offers voters more opportunities to participate in democracy. Proponents argue that mail-in ballots allow voters to educate themselves more thoroughly about issues and candidates.
Under Utah state law, mail-in ballots require a postmark dated before the day before the election.
Earlier this year, a congressional candidate from southern Utah, Colby Jenkins, sued because he claimed voters in rural areas who mailed their ballots in before the postmark deadline failed to get postmarks on time because their mail routes through Las Vegas.
The Washington County clerk told KSL he tested the process for himself and found as long as ballots arrived in designated post office boxes or at a physical post office before the last posted pickup time on the day before the election, they received a timely postmark.
The Utah Supreme Court dismissed Jenkins’ lawsuit earlier this year.
