SALT LAKE CITY — A highly-anticipated audit ordered by leadership in the Utah State Legislature found "no evidence of systematic problems, widespread errors or significant fraud" in the state's election system.
"This is primarily because multiple layers of process and defense must be defeated to undermine election integrity in Utah. Although we believe elections are functioning well overall, there are several risk areas—discussed throughout this report—that provide opportunities to strengthen Utah’s election system in important ways," the audit said.
House Majority Leader Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, requested an "election integrity audit" last year. In an interview with FOX 13 News at the time, he insisted it was to put to bed any concerns about Utah's election systems. Lawmakers have faced pressure to audit Utah's elections from some activists who have claimed — without evidence — that there is fraud. In 2019, a similar audit found no problems and Utah State Auditor John Dougall declined to conduct one because no one could point to a specific problem with the state's elections.
Legislative auditors tested election systems in every county in Utah in the 2022 primaries. The audit pushed back on claims of fraud, noting a series of steps that have to be taken to fraudulently obtain and fill out mail-in ballots.
"Layers of controls, when used appropriately, work together to mitigate the risk of election problems, errors, and fraud," the audit said.
The report noted that prosecution for intentional election crimes in Utah is rare because the crimes themselves are rare. One county attorney interviewed for the audit recalled prosecuting two individuals for misdemeanor crimes related to gathering petition signatures.
"Another county attorney could recall only two election-related cases in his fifteen years of experience, one of which involved an individual suspected of signing a family member’s ballot," the audit said. "Upon further investigation, the county attorney explained, it was determined that the individual was attempting to assist a family member who could not sign the ballot on their own, and there was no clear criminal intent. For those reasons, the case was not prosecuted."
However, the audit did recommend stronger oversight through the Lt. Governor's Office and continued vetting of the state's voter rolls, as well as increased training for county clerks. Legislative leaders did focus on some instances where ballots and votes didn't reconcile. Auditors said they found no nefarious purpose behind it and state elections officials said some of it was clerical errors.
"I'm very grateful that is such a really low number when you look at the overall grand scheme, really millions of votes casted and there’s only a handful, really, of things out there," Rep. Schultz said in response to the audit.
Senate President J. Stuart Adams, R-Layton, said audits like this can give credibility to the election process.
In a formal response to the audit, Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson said many of those changes have already been implemented.
"We are pleased the legislative audit found no evidence of systematic problems, widespread errors, or significant fraud. Further, the audit found that any bad actors would need to defeat multiple layers of defensive control measures to undermine election integrity in Utah. The systems in place are the result of careful and deliberate efforts by the Legislature over many years to ensure that Utah voters have access to the ballot, confidence in the security of our elections, and the ability to hold those who run them accountable for their job performance," she said.
After the audit was presented, Lt. Gov. Henderson told FOX 13 News that voters can have confidence in Utah's election systems.
"They can have confidence and they already do, as there’s been some recent polling that shows our voters have very high confidence that their elections are run well and their votes are counted accurately," she said.
Read the audit here:
