Latest Stories

Phil Lyman sues Lt. Gov. Henderson seeking access to voter registration list
Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL.com | Posted June 6 - 7:02 p.m.
Phil Lyman filed a lawsuit against Utah's lieutenant governor Friday seeking voter registration data, arguing Utah's law allowing private voter info runs afoul of federal law.

Democratic chair admits party struggles to talk to religious voters. Here's what he hopes to do
Lauren Irwin, Deseret News | Posted June 2 - 12:00 p.m.
Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin said he believes Utah will one day be blue — despite his party's struggle to win any statewide elections in Utah.

Cox says he doesn't plan to call special session to address signature gathering
Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL.com | Posted May 25 - 5:02 p.m.
Gov. Spencer Cox said he doesn't plan to call a special session to overturn SB54 after Sen. Mike Lee urged him to address the law that created the dual paths to the primary ballot in 2014.

Incumbent Rob Axson defeats Phil Lyman in vote to lead Utah GOP
Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL.com | Posted May 17 - 5:11 p.m.
Utah Republican Party Chairman Rob Axson will serve another two years at the helm of the state's largest political party after narrowly defeating challenger Phil Lyman Saturday.

Utah GOP will consider kicking signature-gathering candidates out of the party
Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL.com | Posted May 15 - 7:11 p.m.
Utah Republican delegates will consider stripping party membership from candidates who opt to collect signatures to qualify for the primary ballot during the party's convention Saturday.

Signature verification for collective bargaining referendum is complete
Caitlin Keith, Deseret News | Posted May 8 - 9:36 p.m.
Vote Utah announced Thursday that signature verification for the HB267 referendum had been completed by state elections officials.

These new Utah laws take effect Wednesday
Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL.com and Daniel Woodruff, KSL-TV | Posted May 7 - 6:12 a.m.
Many new laws are taking effect this week, two months after the Utah legislative session ended.

Navajo, San Juan County leaders extend accord bolstering voting access
Tim Vandenack, KSL.com | Posted April 28 - 2:35 p.m.
Navajo Nation and San Juan County leaders have extended an accord that stems from a 2016 lawsuit that aims to bolster voting access for Navajo residents.

Public sector union referendum clears thresholds for ballot access
Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL.com | Posted April 28 - 2:34 p.m.
Election officials have verified more than 146,000 signatures for the referendum to overturn a Utah bill restricting bargaining rights for public unions.

Utah lieutenant governor announces audit of citizenship on voter rolls
Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL.com | Posted April 17 - 9:04 p.m.
Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson says her office will audit the citizenship of people on the state's voter rolls — a day after Elon Musk responded to her stance on the SAVE Act.

Audit finds some Utah elections offices stored passwords in plain sight, other security issues
Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL.com | Posted April 16 - 8:03 a.m.
Auditors are recommending several changes to ensure the cybersecurity of Utah's elections after finding a handful of potential "vulnerabilities."

HB267 referendum effort says it has 130K signatures, support from Fraternal Order of Police
Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL.com | Posted March 28 - 3:04 p.m.
A coalition working to put a referendum on the ballot to undo the Legislature's bill to strip public unions of collective bargaining rights says it has collected nearly 130,000 signatures.

Trump overhauls voting via executive order. Here's what the order does
Sydney Jezik, Deseret News | Posted March 26 - 9:26 p.m.
President Donald Trump released an executive order on Tuesday attempting to overhaul the American voting system. His order includes requirements on voter ID and when ballots must arrive to polling stations.

Will Utah's vote-by-mail reform really make elections safer?
Brigham Tomco, Deseret News | Posted March 23 - 3:22 p.m.
Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz said Tuesday the state's new vote-by-mail process is "a huge step" toward better election security despite the major changes made from the original proposal he supported.

Majority of Utah Republicans like signature gathering for candidates, new poll finds
Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL.com | Posted March 23 - 10:43 a.m.
The majority of Utah voters — including Republicans — favor allowing candidates to qualify for the primary ballot by collecting signatures, a new poll finds.

Can we trust signature petitions in Utah anymore?
Emma Pitts, Deseret News | Posted March 13 - 6:18 a.m.
Utah's signature petition process for elections is facing some scrutiny as high signature requirements and allegations of forgery raise concerns.

11 signature gatherers charged with forging signatures for Utah candidates
Pat Reavy, KSL.com | Posted March 10 - 7:02 p.m.
Eleven people were charged Monday with forging signatures in several Utah counties as part of a signature-gathering process to get candidates on the 2024 primary election ballot.

Utah's legislative session has come to an end. Here's what your lawmakers did
Bridger Beal-Cvetko, Carter Williams, Logan Stefanich and Tim Vandenack, KSL.com | Posted March 8 - 12:00 a.m.
Another 45-day legislative session is in the books, dominated early by rancor over a bill stripping public unions of bargaining power and concluding with Utah lawmakers revamping the state's election system.

Proposal to create new Utah Debate Committee fails to move forward
Daniel Woodruff, KSL-TV | Posted March 1 - 1:07 p.m.
Utah lawmakers voted not to advance a plan that would effectively sideline the group in charge of running political debates and create a state-run one instead.

Utah GOP leaders backtrack on who should write constitutional amendment ballot questions
Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL.com | Posted Feb. 28 - 9:37 a.m.
Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz is planning to return power to legislative auditors to write the text of constitutional amendment ballot questions after Amendment D was overturned last year.

Utah bill would restrict lawmakers from sending out mailers with public money before an election
Caitlin Keith, Deseret News | Posted Feb. 27 - 2:03 p.m.
A new bill to prevent elected officials from using public funds to promote themselves during elections has been introduced in the Utah House of Representatives.

Will Utahns keep voting by mail? Election reforms are on their way
Brigham Tomco, Deseret News | Posted Feb. 26 - 12:01 p.m.
After an initial flurry of public discussion, Utah lawmakers from the Senate and House spent the last four weeks debating the future of Utah's elections behind closed doors.

Utah lawmakers pass a bill aimed at ending county clerk's politician ballot tracking
Lisa Riley Roche, Deseret News | Posted Feb. 24 - 8:42 a.m.
The fate of a bill drafted in response to Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson tracking the method local politicians used to cast their ballots but changed by lawmakers without a hearing is now up to Gov. Spencer Cox.

Utah to limit candidate nicknames on ballot after Lucifer 'Justin Case' Everylove qualified last year
Bridger Beal-Cvetko, KSL.com | Posted Feb. 20 - 12:43 p.m.
Utah lawmakers moved to make it harder for candidates to put a nickname on the ballot after a candidate named Lucifer "Justin Case" Everylove qualified for the state's ballot.
