KSL Investigation finds few cases of election crimes prosecuted in Utah 

SALT LAKE CITY — Considerations about election fraud and election safety aren’t going away.   

A Deseret Information ballot performed in January 2022 confirmed whereas most Utahns are assured our elections shall be truthful and correct this 12 months (81% of respondents,) practically one in 5 reported wavering religion in Utah election processes.   

These issues prompted KSL Investigators to ask: what does widespread voter fraud appear to be, and has it occurred in Utah?   

“I don’t even know that I might say what widespread voter fraud seems like,” Utah’s prime election official Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson mentioned. “It’s not a factor right here in Utah, as a result of we’ve labored so laborious through the years to place in all of those checks and balances.”  

Henderson’s workplace appears like a damaged file, repeatedly touting Utah’s safe election processes.  

It’s a precedence that developed right into a public service marketing campaign, with billboards and commercials informing and reassuring Utahns of election safety.  

 “Thus far, there actually hasn’t been something that anybody has proven us that’s really proof of voter fraud,” Henderson defined to KSL Investigators. “Accusations will not be proof.”  

That was clear through the main election in June, when allegations of voter fraud repeated by state Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, have been found to be false.   

Don’t simply take her phrase for it 

Utah has a sturdy set of election legal guidelines, all the pieces from voter intimidation to interfering with election officers’ jobs.   

KSL Investigators filed a public information request with Utah courts statewide and retrieved each case of any election code violation prosecuted from 2012 and 2022.   

We discovered that 17 folks have been prosecuted for numerous election crimes throughout that point, with 36 complete costs levied in opposition to them.   

The most typical scenario concerned forging signatures on referendum or initiative packets. Eight folks have been charged with “misconduct of electors and officers” for this conduct. Lots of them had been employed by Collect, an organization gathering signatures for poll initiatives just like the 2018 Utah Medical Hashish Act.   

Court docket paperwork confirmed all these circumstances have been caught by county election officers by signature verification processes.   

5 folks have been charged with “take away, alter, deface, vandalize a marketing campaign signal.”   

There have been no incidences of voter intimidation prosecuted on this ten-year span.   

Only one man was charged with “false impersonation—double voting.” It occurred within the 2020 Basic Election.   

We known as him to ask what occurred, and he detailed that it was his first election as a voter. He misunderstood that provisional ballots have been precise ballots, and voted once more in particular person on election day. The county clerk caught the duplicate poll.   

He entered right into a diversion settlement with the Cache County Legal professional. The decide made him pay a $50 high-quality and the case was dismissed. 

“Most individuals need to play by the foundations” 

Brian McKenzie helps run elections in Davis County as deputy county clerk. He informed KSL the most typical challenge they see every election is relations voting and signing ballots for different relations.  

“That may be a crime,” McKenzie emphasised. Having permission to signal a poll doesn’t negate that illegality.   

“It’s going to occur each election,” he mentioned. “We often have wherever from a handful to a dozen or in order that are available in.” 

That doesn’t imply each occasion is referred for legal costs. McKenzie mentioned intent behind the vote is necessary.  

“It’s actually based mostly upon the data that we are able to collect throughout that preliminary investigation,” defined McKenzie. “If we’re in a position to decide that, hey, there’s legal intent right here, versus perhaps it’s an individual who simply didn’t perceive what they have been doing.” 

McKenzie emphasised any ballots which have questionable signatures will not be counted till it has been cured by particular processes.  

Relatively than give legal information to mothers voting for his or her children who’re on missions, McKenzie’s workplace takes an academic method, mixed with threats of laborious time.  

“We allow them to know that it’s doubtlessly a felony in the event that they’re charged and convicted for what they’ve finished,” he mentioned. “Splendidly sufficient, we’ve not had any repeat offenders.” 

That’s true statewide. KSL Investigators discovered no repeat offenders in court docket paperwork from the final decade.  

Many took a responsible plea, diversion plans, or a plea in abeyance. We discovered just one particular person served two days in jail. All different jail or jail sentences have been suspended. Most have been ordered to do neighborhood service or pay a high-quality.  

From a prosecution angle, Salt Lake County District Legal professional Sim Gill echoed McKenzie’s expertise with voter fraud on the poll field.  

“We take these points extraordinarily significantly, and it simply is just not there,” mentioned Gill. “We have now not seen it, we don’t see it in any type of important numbers.” 

Even with some election crime taking place, Gill reiterated it doesn’t change election outcomes.  

“When there may be an anomaly, it’s so infinitesimally small, percentage-wise,” mentioned Gill. “It’s nearly negligible that it will by no means have an effect on the result of an election.” 

Gill agreed there’s care in dealing with any allegation of voter fraud to find out if it rises to a legal degree. 

“There could also be misunderstandings which might be there, and as public prosecutors, if we’ve the proof, we’ll file these costs,” Gill defined. “We’ll maintain you accountable, however we additionally need to make sure that we’re holding the particular person proportionally accountable for his or her conduct. What was their intent?” 

Not a partisan challenge 

Gill noticed a noticeable hyperlink between these messages coming from election officers and prosecutors: there’s no social gathering politics at play in assuring Utah nonetheless leads the nation in safe elections.  

“Let me reply it this fashion,” mentioned Gill. “As a Democrat, who’s a district lawyer, once I have a look at my governor and lieutenant governor who say there isn’t a election fraud, I can be part of with them and say they agree with me that there isn’t a election fraud. We, coming from totally different political realms, are dedicated to the integrity of that course of for the state of Utah, for Salt Lake County, for each citizen.” 

Elevated election safety 

Election safety was a scorching challenge within the 2022 legislative session, with 21 new legal guidelines rising regarding securing poll containers, voter roll upkeep, and course of transparency.  

An try was made by Lyman to eradicate voting by mail because the default voting technique, claiming the present technique is “problematic” due to points with voter rolls, and ballots are generally nonetheless issued to properties the place voters have moved away.  

County clerks have lengthy been required to keep up voter rolls and have insurance policies in place for protecting rolls up to date when folks transfer or die. A brand new legislation handed in 2022 strengthens these processes by giving particular timelines of when these rolls are maintained.  

Lyman’s invoice included provisions to require post-election, third-party audits, prohibit voter registration harvesting, and “manually counting ballots within the polling location with ballot watchers current.” The invoice was defeated in committee, with opposition from AARP, Navajo Nation, and several other county clerks.   

A few of the legislation adjustments permit extra accessibility for ballot watchers, giving those that have questions on election safety a greater alternative to see the method for themselves. Ballot watchers should join with the county clerk forward of election day.  

“If there’s voter fraud happening, I need to find out about it,” mentioned Henderson. “If there’s voter fraud happening, the county clerks need to find out about it. Present us the proof. Present us what the issues are, and we’ll deal with them.”

Have you ever skilled one thing you suppose simply isn’t proper? The KSL Investigators need to assist. Submit your tip at investigates@ksl.com or 385-707-6153 so we are able to get working for you.