Last December, the Legislative Audit Subcommittee requested an audit to provide assurance that Utah’s election systems and processes continue to be secure. Today, the Legislative Audit Subcommittee received and reviewed the findings from the Office of the Legislative Auditor General (OLAG). After observing and testing election systems in every county during the 2022 primary election, OLAG found no evidence of systemic problems, widespread errors or significant fraud. Additionally, OLAG laid out areas of improvement and opportunity, including conducting an annual post-election audit, evaluating voter rolls and regularly updating Utah Code to specify oversight and enforcement of elections.
President J. Stuart Adams and Speaker Brad Wilson release the following statement:
“Utah is a national leader in elections and has taken extraordinary measures and implemented procedures to ensure the election process is fair. Over the past 10 years, Utah’s Legislative Auditor General has reviewed processes and procedures to verify elections are accurate. Upholding the election process is key to the democratic process, and our state will continue to ensure election integrity and proper oversight is in place. Utah has high standards for elections because we proactively look for ways to improve our process and build trust.
“We appreciate the work of OLAG and the dedication and hard work of all election officers and employees throughout the state. We support the recommendation of having external audits part of the process, ensuring Utah’s election integrity remains the best in the nation. We look forward to collaborating with election officials to implement the recommendations. We are confident in Utah’s ability to conduct secure, fair and trustworthy elections and remain committed to evaluating and improving our election systems and processes.”
Majority Leaders Rep. Mike Schultz and Sen. Evan Vickers release the following statement:
“We have the utmost appreciation for those who carry out elections across our state and praise them for their dedication to and participation in the democratic process. Just as all areas of government are audited on a regular basis, we echo the findings of the audit and believe an audit should be performed following every election. We are excited for the opportunity to continually improve upon our systems and ensure voter confidence among Utahns.”
Tags: Audit, Elections, Legislative Audit Subcommittee