Utah County investigating potential signature fraud as Prop 4 repeal deadline looms

SALT LAKE CITY — A criminal investigation is underway after a county clerk reported several hundred potentially fraudulent signatures turned in as part of the effort to repeal Utah's 2018 anti-gerrymandering law.

The issue was first flagged by leaders of Utahns for Representative Government, a Republican-backed political issues committee that is seeking to overturn Proposition 4, which narrowly passed in 2018 to create an independent commission and neutral standards for drawing congressional boundaries.

The group has thousands of people working to collect signatures in support of an initiative to repeal Proposition 4, but Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson said roughly 300 signatures have been disqualified after signature packets collected by nine different individuals were flagged for potential fraud.

"You'd be surprised at how many mistakes the forgeries have," Davidson said.

Some were subtle, such as misspelling the name of the city of Mapleton — a mistake a real Mapleton resident wouldn't make, he said. Davidson said some fraudulent entries appear to include outdated information from previous voter rolls. In another instance, an entire signature packet was filled with names and addresses that don't exist.

"I think it's just these few signature gatherers who think they've figured the process out to get paid really well," he said.

A spokesman for the Utah County Attorney's Office confirmed it is investigating allegations of signature-gathering fraud referred by Davidson.

Davidson credited internal processes within his office for catching what he believes are forgeries. He said each signature packet receives multiple reviews. In instances where staff members believe they've found fraudulent entries, he's called voters to confirm.

"Most of them have been very thankful that I've called them," he said. "They said, 'Well, we are so thankful that you are following up on this and finding this.'"

Signatures can be rejected for reasons that don't include fraud, and about a quarter of all 24,000 signatures processed in Utah County have been rejected, according to data compiled by Davidson's office.

Rob Axson, who heads Utahns for Representative Government and serves as chairman of the Utah Republican Party, told KSL Thursday that the group identified several people who were suspected of forging signatures late last year, shortly after the effort began.

"We've been clear with both volunteers and paid staff that there is zero interest and zero tolerance for anybody doing anything except for being honest and following the rules and the law and respecting the people of Utah," Axson said. "We don't want to cut corners or anything. And so I was very clear: If there's any example of that, if the person is employed by us, they will be fired, they will be referred for prosecution and investigation, and we've done that very thing."

Axson said his group has hired about 700 people to help collect signatures over the past several months and had help from about 1,500 volunteers.

"There are going to, of course, with those types of numbers, be a couple of bad actors," he said. "Absolutely, there's no room for that. But I want to make clear, the vast majority are good people who are going about this process appropriately."

Elizabeth Rasmussen, the executive director of Better Boundaries, which was behind the Proposition 4 initiative eight years ago, said she isn't surprised to hear about fraud allegations but doesn't believe the organizers of the repeal effort have done anything wrong.

"When you contract with these huge out-of-state companies," she said, "and they come in and hire people from out-of-state companies who aren't involved in the issues and they have an incentive to gather a certain amount of signatures, you're bound to encounter that."

Related

'I felt tricked': KSL investigates some misleading claims from those working to repeal Prop 4

Some paid signature gatherers working to place a repeal of Proposition 4 on the November ballot have misled or withheld information from voters about what the ballot initiative would do, according to a KSL investigation.

Gatherers can face serious consequences for fraud related to signatures. Violations of the election code are class A misdemeanors punishable by up to 364 days in jail, and if the violations reach the level of forgery, defendants can be charged with a third-degree felony and face up to five years in prison.

County clerks say it's not uncommon to find minor errors on packets, and Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman said her office has referred a handful of inconsistencies to the Utah Attorney General's Office for investigation. But she said the number of allegedly fraudulent signatures in Utah County is "startling."

"Multiple counties have raised concerns about potential fraud, which we are investigating," said Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, whose office oversees elections in the state. "We have aggressively pursued bad actors in the past and will continue to do so. We commend the county clerks for their diligent work in identifying these issues. At this time, it would be irresponsible to speculate any further on this matter."

Tensions escalate as deadline nears

Utahns for Representative Government has just until Feb. 15 to collect approximately 141,000 signatures statewide and meet thresholds in 26 of the state's 29 counties. More than 72,000 signatures have been validated as of Thursday morning, according to the Lieutenant Governor's Office, but Axson said his group has tens of thousands of signatures it is working through.

"It really is more of a labor issue than it is like ... oh, we're just holding onto this," he said, adding that gatherers continue to process signature packets and turn them in every day.

But tensions have been high in recent weeks as gatherers have reported being assaulted and having signature packets stolen. Last month, a signature gatherer in American Fork said they were assaulted by someone who took the signature petition packet and struck them on the side of the head, according to local police.

People have also filed police reports in Centerville and Salt Lake City, alleging that people took, and sometimes tore up, signature packets.

"Yes, they stole something that we're working on, but more importantly, they've stolen the voice of the 30 or 40 or 50 Utahns who had put their name to that petition," Axson said. "That is incredibly inappropriate."

Efforts to ask people to have their signatures removed from petitions have also ramped up, following KSL reporting about several signature gatherers who misled potential signers about what the initiative would actually do.

Voters have 30 days to remove their name from an initiative petition after it is posted on the lieutenant governor's website, and Better Boundaries launched a signature removal campaign Wednesday in an effort to stop the initiative from qualifying.

"Utahns should know exactly what they're signing, and if a repeal effort can't win on the facts, it shouldn't try to win through misleading petition practices," Rasmussen said in a statement.

Rasmussen said her group has not called for or encouraged any violence or theft against those gathering signatures.

"We've focused only really on signature removal," she said," and so any types of protests or violences that have happened with signature gatherers, we haven't been a part of that."

As for complaints about gatherers misleading petition signers, Axson said he thinks the issue is "overblown" but said the group is taking it seriously.

"When I've had direct evidence provided to me, there's some examples where people have fallen short, and we've addressed that," he said, "whether it's providing additional training, additional support or, where appropriate, letting the person go and not having them engaged with us anymore."

KSL has continued to receive reports of misleading signature gatherers and is continuing to investigate claims.

Utahns who would like to sign the petition to overturn Proposition 4 can find gathering locations throughout the state at ufrg.org/calendar. Information about removing your name from a petition can be found at protectutahvoters.com.

Lawmakers look to improve process

Davidson is hopeful the Utah Legislature will adopt HB32 as a potential solution. The measure would require the lieutenant governor to create a mandatory online training course to educate people who collect signatures for a petition.

"They will have to attest that they've gone through the training," he said. "They know the consequences. They know what they have to do to turn in a valid packet. And I think that this problem we're having this year will pretty much disappear."

Davidson believes the training would dissuade gatherers from forging signatures once they understand Utah's signature verification process and the high likelihood that they'll be caught.

Members of the House Government Operations Committee considered the measure earlier this week and passed it with a favorable recommendation.

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