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AUDIT SUMMARY
REPORT #2022-17 | December 2022
Office of the Legislative Auditor General | Kade R. Minchey, Auditor General
PERFORMANCE
AUDIT
AUDIT REQUEST
The Legislative Audit
Subcommittee requested an audit
to provide assurance that Utah’s
election systems and processes
continue to be secure, fair, and
trustworthy.
Specifically, we were asked to
examine the integrity of election
processes, the accuracy of voter
rolls, and the security around
voters’ ballots.
BACKGROUND
For our purposes, we define
election integrity as ensuring that
eligible voters can vote, ineligible
voters cannot, and election
results reflect the will of the
electorate.
The Lieutenant Governor is
designated as Utah’s chief
elections officer but does not
administer elections or directly
maintain voter registration
records.
Direct responsibility for voter
registration and election
administration falls instead on
independently elected county
clerks throughout the state.
Click or scan for interactive
election security website
ELECTION SYSTEMS AND CONTROLS
KEY FINDINGS
1.1 Utah’s election controls mitigate the risk of fraud as long as they
are used properly.
2.1 Mistakes within the voter registration database highlight
opportunities for increased oversight.
3.1 Canvass ballot totals from Utah’s 2022 primary election did not
match those recorded in the central voter database.
3.2 Some counties’ chain-of-custody practices make it difficult to
account for all ballots.
4.1 Utah lacks clear legal standards for election signature
verification
5.2 Adopting additional post-election audit methods could increase
confidence in election processing and outcomes.
6.1 Utah election code does not specify oversight and enforcement
roles.
KEY RECOMMENDATIONS
2.1 The Office of the Lieutenant Governor should finalize standards
for the frequency and use of key VISTA maintenance tools, and then
monitor their implementation.
3.1 The Office of the Lieutenant Governor should create rules
requiring county clerks to publicly reconcile the number of ballots
tabulated with the number of voters given vote credit in VISTA.
3.4 The Office of the Lieutenant Governor should finalize its chain-
of-custody manual, including best practices for election staff in
Utah’s counties.
4.1 The Legislature should consider either including clearer
standards for signature review, acceptance, and rejection in Utah
Code, or giving the Lieutenant Governor authority to establish these
standards and instructions.
5.2 The Legislature should consider establishing a risk-limiting audit
pilot program to enhance Utah’s post-election audit methods, giving
the Office of the Lieutenant Governor rulemaking authority to
establish standards.
6.1 The Legislature should consider adding election standard
oversight and enforcement responsibilities and mechanisms to Utah
Code.
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AUDIT SUMMARY
CONTINUED
REPORT
SUMMARY
1.1 Despite Opportunities to Improve,
Utah’s Election Systems and Processes
Work Together to Guard Election Integrity
Our team observed and tested election systems in
every county during the 2022 primary election and
found no evidence of systematic problems,
widespread errors, or significant fraud. This is
primarily because multiple layers of process and
defense must be defeated to undermine election
integrity in Utah. Although we believe elections are
functioning well overall, there are several risk
areas—discussed throughout this report—that
provide opportunities to strengthen Utah’s election
system in important ways.
2.1 Mistakes within Voter Registration
Database Highlight Opportunities for
Increased Oversight
Maintaining accurate voter rolls ensures that
ballots are mailed to correct addresses, eligible
voters can vote, and ineligible voters cannot. We
found that county clerks are striving to maintain
accurate records and most records we reviewed
were accurate. However, we did identify important
instances where county clerks can improve the
accuracy of voter records. We believe the need to
ensure accurate records is critical to a successful
election and the problems we identified warrant
3.1 Canvass Ballot Totals from 2022
Primary Election Did Not Match Those
Recorded in the Central Voter Database
Our team analyzed ballot processing statistics
and found several counties that had
discrepancies between reported ballot numbers
and recorded voter totals. We
the Office of the Lieutenant Governor (LG’s
Office) playing a more active role.
5.2 Adopting Additional Post-Election
Audit Methods Can Enhance Audit
Outcomes
Adopting risk-limiting audit (RLA) methods
could add to Utah’s election system by shifting
the purpose of the post-election audit to
validating that election outcomes are correct.
Many states are moving to RLAs as the new
standard for post-election audits because they
allow election officials to adjust the number of
examined ballots in an audit to provide
statistical confidence in election results.
Because there are various ways to conduct
RLAs, policymakers should deliberate on
whether RLA methods could be beneficial in
Utah.
6.1 Utah Election Code Does Not Specify
Oversight and Enforcement Roles
To ensure elections are more uniformly
administered we believe Utah Code could
clarify and define oversight and enforcement
roles for elections as seen in other states. Utah
Code designates the Lieutenant Governor (LG)
as the state’s chief election officer.
attempted to reconcile these discrepancies
and had some success, but the processes in
some counties do not allow for a
reconciliation. Regardless of the exact
cause, these discrepancies point to ballot
processing and recordkeeping problems
that should be understood and explained.