Phil Lyman asks Utah's top court to prevent printing of ballots until resolution in his case

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SALT LAKE CITY — State Rep. Phil Lyman asked the Utah Supreme Court to prevent the printing of ballots for the November general election pending the outcome of an earlier case in which he asked the justices to kick Gov. Spencer Cox out of office and make Lyman the Republican nominee for governor.

The Blanding Republican has taken his case to the courts since losing the June 25 GOP primary to Cox by more than 37,000 votes. He said Sunday he would run for governor as a write-in candidate. Utah has a law that prevents candidates who have filed a declaration of candidacy from running as an unaffiliated candidate in the same year.

Lyman filed a lawsuit in Utah's 3rd District Court just a week after the election asking a judge to force election officials to turn over a list of names of people who signed ballot access petitions for Cox. The campaign has cast doubt on the legitimacy of the signatures collected and said it would like to examine the lists.

In a petition to the Utah Supreme Court on Aug. 2, he claimed Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson committed "malfeasance" in allowing Cox on the primary ballot, and he asked that the pair be thrown out of office, that the primary election results be invalidated and that he be named the Republican gubernatorial nominee on the general election ballot.

Lyman filed a request for a preliminary injunction in that same case with the Supreme Court on Monday, asking the five justices to halt the printing of ballots for the November election until the Supreme Court issues a ruling, force Cox to veto any election-related bills passed by the Legislature while his case plays out, and prevent the Utah Republican Party from endorsing Cox for governor in November.

Like the Aug. 2 request, Lyman filed the petition to the top court on his own behalf, without an attorney signing on.

We owe it to the public to ensure that elections are conducted lawfully and candidates are treated fairly. As Republicans, we also need to defend our party's right to nominate candidates via our party's constitution and bylaws.

–Rep. Phil Lyman

In a press release, he accused Henderson of committing a "third-degree felony and malfeasance in office for creating a counterfeit ballot."

"It is our duty as elected officials that we have free and fair elections in Utah," Lyman said in a statement. "We owe it to the public to ensure that elections are conducted lawfully and candidates are treated fairly. As Republicans, we also need to defend our party's right to nominate candidates via our party's constitution and bylaws, which state the winner of the convention is the GOP nominee for the general election."

His court filing, obtained Monday by KSL.com, also claims he was "strong-armed" into competing in the primary election and should have been allowed to advance to the general election because he won 67.5% of the Republican delegate vote during the statewide nominating convention in April.

"Yet, in a move that makes political shenanigans look like a friendly game of checkers, the respondents have strong-armed petitioner Lyman onto the June 25, 2024, primary ballot, forcing petitioner Lyman to take another spin on the nomination merry-go-round," the petition states. "Tossing aside the party constitution like an outdated rulebook and treated the convention nomination like a dress rehearsal that never happened — circumventing the indirect primary allowed by Utah elections law."

Lyman has contested Utah's election law that allows candidates to qualify for the primary ballot by winning during the party convention or by collecting enough signatures. Utah law states: "A qualified political party that nominates one or more candidates for an elective office" using the convention system "and has one or more candidates qualify as a candidate for that office" by gathering signatures, "shall participate in the primary election for that office."

In a separate case, Lyman's running mate, Natalie Clawson, asked to appeal a district court decision rejecting a request for a preliminary injunction to force state officials to turn over the list of signatures gathered on behalf of Cox.

Judge Stephen L. Nelson ruled last month against Lyman's request for emergency injunctive relief, writing that "plaintiffs have failed to make their necessary showing for relief and have therefore failed to meet their burden with respect to the irreparable harm under Rule 65A(e)." Clawson's request to appeal that decision also asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the constitutionality of SB54, the Utah law that allows for the dual path to the primary ballot.

Lyman and his campaign were plaintiffs in the original lawsuit but voluntarily withdrew on Friday, leaving Clawson as the sole plaintiff going forward.

Clawson claims in her appeal the district judge was wrong in denying the request for a preliminary injunction ordering officials to turn over the signature list and said such an injunction would benefit the public interest, according to court documents obtained by KSL.com Monday.

"The issue presented is straightforward and acutely needed," the appeal petition states. "Clawson is requesting access to records that have a strong public interest, and they have the most value during an active election cycle and before the general election. The very nature of the requests requires disclosure of these materials immediately — not 12 or more months in the future when election challenges are stale."

The petition asks the state Supreme Court to decide the issue rather than refer it to the lower court of appeals.

"The petition raises important issues about access to public records and challenges to the eligibility of political candidates," it states. "These issues are significant now and likely to recur in future election cycles, particularly in light of SB54's alternate paths to the primary election ballot. Utah's electorate needs a conclusive answer."