Utah
Discrepancies, high rejection rate found in Utah County voting
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.
“In-person voting is the most safe and secure way to cast a ballot and make sure it gets counted,” Davidson said. “The fast cast method maintains the verification of showing up in person, showing your ID, signing the poll pad, but not having to wait in line for the next available voting booth.”
“For every ballot that’s cast in person the Clerk’s office does not have to go through the complex very subjective signature verification process which carries a risk of that ballot having to go through the cure process,” he said.
What is “fast cast” voting?
Fast Cast allows voters to fill out their ballots at home and take it to a polling location, but instead of signing their ballot envelope and dropping it off, voters scan it directly into a special tabulation machine after showing their ID at a polling location.
Davidson has been vocal about his distaste for the United States Postal Service to return ballots, pushing voters instead to use dropboxes or to vote in person.
In mid-July, after Washington and Iron counties encountered problems with late postmarks, Davidson wrote on X, “The US Postal Service is no longer verifiable as safe and secure.” Earlier this year, he also shifted the county away from paying for return postage on mail-in ballots.
According to the report, the fast cast system in Lehi, Pleasant Grove and early in-person county polling places had the issues with more ballots cast than voters who checked in.
“This means that 19 votes may have been cast without a voter showing ID or having their signature checked and reviewed by poll workers at the polling location,” the report states.
“Due to the inherent lack of controls in ‘fast cast’ voting and the subsequent noncompliance of Utah election law, the Utah County Clerk’s Office must either abandon the ‘fast cast’ voting method or make significant modifications to bring it into compliance with state code,” the report recommends.
A ‘key security feature disabled’
The reason the tabulation machines allowed for possible fraud, the report states, is because a “key security feature was disabled” in order for these tabulators to read the mail-in ballots.
While Jackson couldn’t discuss the specifics of that safeguard, she said that the tabulation machines were programmed to accept by-mail ballots as opposed to in-person ballots. When a voter votes in person, there is a ballot with a different type of marking on it. That prevents the voter from voting both a by mail and an in person ballot.
“Disabling this would allow for any ballot to be read, creating the potential for multiple ballots to be scanned in by a single voter,” the report states.
“I think any time that you take away safeguards, it is it is a serious matter,” Jackson said. “The machine did have to have that safety feature turned off in order to accept the by-mail ballot versus in-person ballot.”
In total, the report examined 10 polling locations across the county and all but one location had mismatched vote totals with ballots cast.
“‘Fast Cast’ was presented as a way to expedite ballot processing because voters would present ID when submitting their ballot, therefore signature verification would not be performed. However, Utah County still experiences significant delays in ballot processing,” the report states.
It also warns that the fast cast method could create long lines during the general election.
Davidson said the county is already implementing recommendations from the report, including an “overhaul of Fast Cast Voting, weekly trainings on signature verification and improvements to reconciliation procedures.”
High rate of signatures rejected
According to the report, Jackson and the staff also found a high rate of rejected signatures on ballots that were actually valid Utah voters.
“County signature rates were higher than the statewide average and more than five times higher than the 2023 primary election rejection rate,” the report states.
This appears to have led to unnecessary cure letters sent to voters to fix their signatures. The report does not say whether these voters actually returned those cure letters, but anyone who didn’t, wouldn’t have had their vote counted.
One county staff member who was audited during the visit had 25% of the signatures they reviewed rejected, according to the report. It notes that while proper verification is important, staff were “too stringent” with rejecting signatures.
Utah law requires a 1% audit of signature verifications to make sure that ballots cast are actually a registered Utah voter. The report notes that the clerk’s office management acknowledged these high rejection rates during the audit, but “no remedial action was taken.”
“Care must be taken to verify that each vote was cast by the required registered voter, but undue and unnecessary burdens should not be placed on voters,” the report states.
Key findings
In all, the report issued five total findings and subsequent recommendations for Davidson’s office to fix related to in-person voting before November. They are as follows:
- The office did not reconcile the number of voters who checked in at a polling location with the number of ballots cast. Henderson’s office requires this must be done and reviewed for accuracy during the canvass. The report states reconciliation should happen multiple times throughout the day.
- Fast Cast lacked “key statutory controls and created an environment for fraudulent voting.” It bans the method unless key changes are made to make it compliant with state law.
- Some of the staff were too stringent on signature verifications. The office must review signature verification guidelines and implement those.
- Utah County under-utilized the 1% signature audits to provide additional training. The office must review and implement audit policy.
- Utah County has grainy and unclear images of signatures on file. The office should begin updating signatures they have on file.
The report notes that despite the issues raised, Henderson’s office remains “committed to the success of the Utah County Clerk’s Office and staff” and is ready to help implement the changes.
The report notes that each method of voting — in person, dropboxes, and the mail — should be made “accessible and secure” for voters. Jackson also said that Utah County has been receptive to the changes.
“We don’t anticipate these problems to be repeated,” she said.
McBain had an impactful night with a first period fight and his first career NHL shorthanded goal. His tally came at a critical time as the game was tied early in the third period and Dallas was pushing. The shorthanded goal started a push of three goals in 12 minutes and four goals in the third period for Utah to run away with the game.
“(He’s) someone (that was) doing the right things,” Nate Schmidt said of McBain’s performance. “You feel like it’s going come out in the end. I think he’s the epitome of that for our group. He takes a lot of face-offs, he goes (and) he gets a big tilt early. He answers the bell. He’s just a guy that you want on your club, you want (in) your lineup, and for him to be the guy that kind of gets us rocking and rolling up the rest of the game, that’s awesome, (I’m) proud of him.”
“I feel like I’ve been doing a lot of good things,” McBain reflected on his recent play. “I’ve been getting a lot of shots, a lot of chances, and sometimes it doesn’t go your way, but I was trying to stick with it mentally and obviously get to see that one go tonight, that’s good.”
In addition to McBain’s shorthanded tally, Captain Clayton Keller, Schmidt, Kailer Yamamoto, Michael Carcone (PPG), and Lawson Crouse (EN) scored in the win. 11 different players had points in the win. Tonight was also the first time in franchise history that the Mammoth have scored a shorthanded goal, a power play goal, and an empty net goal in one period and the fifth time that Utah has scored at all three strengths in a game.
The Mammoth’s penalty kill was also a high point as Utah kept the second-best power play in the NHL from scoring on any of its three opportunities. Utah’s effort shorthanded was noticeable and was the right level of assertiveness against an opportunistic Stars team.
“I think we’re in a much better space,” Schmid said of the penalty kill. “When we get a little bit more pressure to them, we get a little bit more pace, in that way, it cuts down the reads and switch offs, some handoffs that you can get into and just start your rotation. I thought we did a great job, cutting a couple plays and guys getting the puck down the whole way. That always makes a big difference.”
Vítek Vaněček played his third game in March and 17th game this season. He picked up his fifth win this season and stopped 27 of the 30 shots he faced from a top offense. He made timely saves and was a solid last line of defense. Vaněček has a 3-0-2 record in his last five games and over that five game points streak he has a 2.38 goals-against average and .912 save percentage (per Mammoth PR).
The Mammoth are in a tough playoff race and picked up two valuable points tonight. This Central Division matchup was an opportunity for Utah to play a strong team game against a top opponent. Although the Mammoth are eager to book the team’s first playoff appearance in franchise history, tonight was an example of how pressure is a privilege.
“This is a game we’ve been playing our whole lives,” Schmidt reflected. “If you can embrace that and have some fun with it, it (the pressure) really does melt away, and you can really just enjoy the moment.”
“We’re proud of our effort,” Tourigny said. “Proud of a lot of things mentally in that game, but now we’ll have a good test to be consistent.”
The Mammoth will face the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday to kick off a back-to-back and start a series of three games in four nights to end the week.
Additional Notes from Tonight
- The Mammoth have focused on increasing their physicality and it showed. They had 26 hits tonight and it is the first time this season that Utah has had 26+ hits in three straight games.
- Captain Clayton Keller became the fourth skater to record 20 goals this season. Utah is tied with six other teams for most players who meet this threshold (CAR, WSH, BUF, ANA, VGK, MTL).
- The Mammoth have now snapped two opponents’ double-digit point streaks in 2025-26 (DAL: 15 GP & TOR: 10 GP), joining the Columbus Blue Jackets as the second team to do so multiple times this season (per NHL PR).
- Tonight was Utah’s 14th comeback win this season and the team’s first comeback win since Jan. 24 in Nashville (per Mammoth PR).
- At the start of warmups, the Mammoth announced that forward Kevin Stenlund is day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Brandon Tanev entered the lineup and was on a line with Alexander Kerfoot and Kailer Yamamoto.
Upcoming Schedule
This article was first published in the Ute Insiders newsletter. Sign up to receive the newsletter in your inbox each Wednesday night.
The weather is warming and spring is in the air, which means that the first taste of college football is just around the corner.
Utah will begin its spring camp on Thursday, March 19, officially kicking off the Morgan Scalley era.
With seven new position coaches on staff and a bevy of new players, this spring camp for Utah will be important, setting the tone of the program under a new head coach.
After a bounce-back 11-2 campaign in 2025 in what would end up being Kyle Whittingham’s final year with Utah, the Utes enter spring with momentum, especially after retaining key pieces like quarterbacks Devon Dampier and Byrd Ficklin and running back Wayshawn Parker.
Still, with a mostly-new coaching staff and plenty of new faces on both sides of the ball, there are questions surrounding Scalley and the Utes as they begin practicing next week.
Here are three storylines to follow as the Utes embark on spring camp.
New offensive line takes shape
Utah’s offensive line will look a whole lot different in 2026.
There will be five new starters along the offensive line this season for the Utes, plus a new offensive line coach — former Carolina Panthers star Jordan Gross, who replaces longtime position coach Jim Harding.
Last season, the front five was the strength of Utah’s offense, powered by two future NFL draft picks in Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu and three seniors in the middle. Now, the unit gets a new beginning.
It’s not all new faces competing for those starting jobs, however.
Seniors Alex Harrison (143 snaps last year) and Zereoue Williams (156 snaps) are on Utah’s 2026 roster and look to have received NCAA eligibility waivers. The two veterans provide some continuity from Utah’s previous group and will be in the mix for starting jobs, alongside Solatoa Moea’i (336 snaps last season) and junior Keith Olsen, who played 295 snaps last year.
Other holdovers that could be in the mix for starting jobs or rotation snaps are four-star redshirt freshman Isaiah Garcia (suffered a season-ending injury last fall camp) and Roger Alderman (134 snaps).
There are a few new players that could challenge for starting jobs right away — five-star freshman Kelvin Obot and Montana State redshirt sophomore Cedric Jefferson could very well end up starting at the tackle spots.
Obot is the highest-rated prospect to ever sign with Utah and, at 6-foot-5 and 295 pounds, already has the size for the college game. Gross, who coached Obot at Fruitland High in Idaho, says the freshman phenom is already looking like he belongs on the field physically and mentally. The next steps for Obot, starting in spring practice, will be continuing to get used to the speed and size of the college game.
By the end of spring, Utah should have an outline of their starting lineup and know which players work well together.
New full-time starters on the edge
Just like on the offensive side of the ball, Utah will be replacing every full-time starter on the defensive line.
Star defensive end John Henry Daley, who had 11.5 sacks in 2025 before his season was cut short in the final month, transferred to Michigan; defensive end Logan Fano declared for the draft; defensive tackle Jonah Lea’ea went to Ann Arbor; and Aliki Vimahi graduated.
While Luther Elliss remains at Utah as the defensive tackles coach, the defensive ends will have a new boss — Inoke Breckterfield, who arrives in Salt Lake City after coaching Baylor’s unit for the past two years.
Daley was a special talent, so it will be hard to replace him, but Utah has two players from the 2025 team ready to step up, plus a new transfer that will also compete for the starting job.
Kash Dillon played 340 snaps and started three games last season, totaling 35 tackles and 3.5 sacks as he made the first-to-second-year jump. Lance Holtzclaw, the Washington transfer, played 341 snaps, started the Las Vegas Bowl, and totaled 26 tackles and 1.5 snaps.
Both players improved over the course of the season and are in good spots to land starting jobs.
Utah also added Ethan Day from North Texas, who started all 13 games for North Texas in his junior season, racking up 53 tackles, seven tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks.
Those three will be the main rotation players on the edge for the Utes, but a spring subplot will be how the depth behind them shakes out. Senior Paul Fitzgerald, Lehi High freshman PJ Takitaki and sophomore Nicholas Igwe are among the names trying to get in the rotation this season.
Which receivers stand out?
Each season, the question is posed: Is this the year that a Utah receiver breaks the 1,000-yard mark? The last Ute WR to do so was Dres Anderson in the 2013 season, and though Darren Carrington was close with 980 receiving yards in 2017, that mark hasn’t been crossed in over a decade.
Braden Pegan, who caught 60 passes for 926 yards and five touchdowns last year at Utah State, is the early favorite to lead the Utes’ wide receiver room. Whether he can get close to the 1,000-yard mark remains to be seen — Ryan Davis was the closest receiver last year with 725 yards — but he enters spring as Utah’s WR1.
Pegan has the advantage of knowing new offensive coordinator Kevin McGiven’s offense, having played in it last year, and if he can develop chemistry with quarterback Devon Dampier, the 6-foot-3, 210-pound junior should turn into one of his favorite targets.
There’s going to be plenty of competition elsewhere in the room, and it will be one of the biggest storylines this spring camp.
Utah brings back Creed Whittemore, who took time to find his footing last season, but once he got playing time in the last month of the season, he showed flashes of potential with 12 catches for 91 yards and a touchdown.
Daidren Zipperer came on strong at the end of the 2024 season, but suffered an injury in fall camp that cost him the 2025 season. Now healthy, what will he show this spring?
Other players to watch in the wide receiver room include Kyri Shoels, who had a productive 2025 for San Jose State with 59 catches for 768 yards and two scores, and Larry Simmons, who had a good final third of the season and finished with 280 yards and six touchdowns on 15 receptions.
Wide receiver has consistently been a question mark for the Utes over the years. Under coach Chad Bumphis, who makes his return to Utah as receivers coach, can the Utes finally shake that narrative with a group of productive players?
In case you missed it
Utah’s 2025-26 season, the first under new coach Alex Jensen, ended with a familiar result as the Utes fell to Cincinnati in the first round of the Big 12 tournament.
From the archives
Extra points
Red Rock seniors reflect on their Utah journey
Utes feel new stadium excitement in convincing home-opening win
Spencer Fano, Caleb Lomu stand out at NFL combine
SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) — Cold morning temperatures across Utah will give way to warmer conditions and the start of a major warm-up this week.
Monday morning will be cold again as lows fall to the 30s. Monday afternoon highs will be much warmer than Sunday. Highs head to the low-60s with mostly cloudy skies. Breezy conditions felt over the weekend will die down by Monday.
Looking into the rest of the work week, a major warm-up is on the way. Temperatures are expected to surge well above normal by the middle of next week, and parts of Utah could see record warmth, feeling more like early summer.
The Wasatch Front will head to the 80s for a few days in a row, while St. George will head to the 90s for six days in a row. This is the earliest ever that both locations have seen this kind of heat.
This will be a historic heatwave, not only for Utah, but for much of the western half of the country.
BE THE FIRST TO COMMENT
_____
Cleveland, OH10 minutes ago
1 Cleveland firefighter injured fighting house fire in city’s Kamm’s Corners neighborhood
Austin, TX16 minutes ago
Morning Briefing Texas March 17
Alabama22 minutes ago
Alabama’s Aden Holloway arrested after authorities allegedly found over a pound of marijuana at residence, expected to miss NCAA tournament
Alaska28 minutes ago
Utah banned another book from all public schools, bringing the list to 28. Here’s what it’s about.
Arizona34 minutes ago
Arizona Rattlers player accused of leaving dog in hot car for hours
Florida1 year ago
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Oregon2 years ago
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
Connecticut2 years ago
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
Virginia2 years ago
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana2 years ago
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Politics7 hours ago
Minnesota bill would ban warrants allowing police to collect data from devices near a crime scene
World8 hours ago
Kallas says ‘no appetite’ to shift mandate of EU Hormuz naval mission
News9 hours ago
Trump predicts US will have ‘honour of taking Cuba’ amid power blackout
Videos13 hours ago
MTG on Trump’s Iran war: ‘Why would an American president do that?’
News18 hours ago
Video: Michael B. Jordan Celebrates Oscar Win at In-N-Out
-
Oklahoma1 week agoOSSAA unveils Class 6A-2A basketball state tournament brackets, schedule
-
Oklahoma3 days agoFamily rallies around Oklahoma father after head-on crash
-
Michigan1 week agoOperation BBQ Relief helping with Southwest Michigan tornado recovery
-
Southeast1 week ago‘90 Day Fiancé’ alum’s boyfriend on trial for attempted murder over wild ‘Boca Bash’ accusations
-
Nebraska4 days agoWildfire forces immediate evacuation order for Farnam residents
-
Health1 week agoAncient herb known as ‘nature’s Valium’ touted for improving sleep and anxiety
-
Business1 week agoCommentary: In two new court cases, judges find that AI does not have human intelligence
-
Technology1 week agoTime’s running out to get a free gift card when you preorder a new MacBook