Vote discrepancies, high signature rejections found in Utah County primary

Here’s 👇 Jeff Caplan’s interview with Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson.

 

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah’s Elections Office has found vote discrepancies in Utah County because of a novel in-person voting method, and a high rate of rejected signatures on by-mail ballots in the county’s June 25 primary election, their newly released report shows.

The report from the Lieutenant Governor’s Office outlines that at least 19 more ballots were cast than people who signed in to in-person polling locations across Utah county during the Primary.

The discrepancies, the report states, were because of the use of an in-person voting method unique to Utah County implemented by County Clerk, Aaron Davidson called “Fast Cast” that may have allowed voters to turn in more than one ballot.

“The fast cast voting process as implemented in the 2024 primary election lacked key statutory controls and created an environment where fraudulent and/or unauthorized ballots were cast,” the report states.

“We don’t know for a fact that those were fraudulent, but we can’t prove that they weren’t,” Lt. Gov’s Deputy Elections Director Shelly Jackson said.

The review also found other concerning problems, namely that ballot signatures on by-mail ballots were rejected at a rate higher than the statewide average and five times higher than the 2023 primary election.

“I definitely think there was an unnecessary barrier to voting,” Jackson said of the rate at which those signatures were rejected.

Jackson was part of a team of four who reviewed Utah County’s elections and visited the office one week after the primary, July 2.

Davidson’s response

Davidson has told the office, as noted in the report, that voters were properly checked in at the polling locations but did not get their vote histories recorded due to “confusion with poll worker training.” Jackson confirmed that is how Davidson explained what happened.

Davidson also explained to KSL TV why he implemented Fast Cast …

Please read Lindsay Aerts’ complete story at KSLTV.com.