UINTAH COUNTY, Utah — A man hired to gather and submit signatures from a political petition to Uintah County has been charged with multiple counts of forgery after allegedly submitting fraudulent signatures.
Chadwick Kluttz, 40, was hired to gather signatures in Uintah County and the city of Vernal between December 30 and January 19.
According to the county, during a recent petition effort connected to the Proposition Four redistricting effort, routine verification processes identified irregularities within a group of signatures submitted by Kluttz.
Investigators claim that Kluttz submitted 300 signatures for review, and 165 of them were flagged as potentially fraudulent.
During the investigation by the Vernal Police Department, officers spoke to nine people who had reportedly signed the petition, but said they had not authorized anyone to sign on their behalf. Two others who had allegedly signed were confirmed to be dead and had died before the alleged signing.
Kluttz has been charged with 11 counts of forgery and 11 counts of unlawfully signing a certificate of nomination sheet. The forgery charges are all third-degree felonies, while the unlawful signings are classified as Class A misdemeanors.
Vernal Police said Kluttz was arrested in his native North Carolina and released, although local authorities are working to have him returned to Utah to face the charges.
Uintah County officials used the arrest to show that their verification process works and that concerns are referred to law enforcement when warranted.
"This isn’t about one petition or one position," the county wrote. "It’s about making sure the process works the same way every time—for everyone."
