Utah State Auditor wraps up review of signature-gathering candidates

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Auditor has finished its review of signature-gathering candidates after questions were raised about how they got on the primary ballot.

Auditor John Dougall’s office has concluded that it is “statistically likely each of these candidates met the statutory threshold of required valid signatures.” The auditor’s office looked at the campaigns of Governor Spencer Cox, Republican attorney general candidate Derek Brown and U.S. Senate candidate John Curtis after receiving numerous questions and complaints.

“Much has been said questioning the validity of signatures by voters who have previously requested to have their voter registration information protected. Therefore, we concentrated our efforts on analyzing a sample of those signatures,” Dougall’s office said in a statement Tuesday.

The auditor said his office concluded that not only had the candidates met the legal threshold, each campaign had time to gather additional signatures if they needed to meet the statutory threshold.

The auditor’s office continues to conduct a review of other election processes.

Republican candidate for governor Phil Lyman, who won the GOP convention nomination, lost the primary to Governor Spencer Cox, who gathered signatures to earn a spot on the ballot as Utah law allows. Lyman and others have raised questions and legal challenges surrounding signature-gathering candidates and whether it was proper. Lyman is currently running as a write-in candidate for governor.

Read the Utah State Auditor’s letter here: