Opinion
OPINION: Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson should resign
Matt Hemmert | Lehi Free Press
Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson cares more about what he wants to do than what he should do and what’s legal. Davidson continues to inject personal ideas and political ideals into what should be a trusted administrative position.
The recent revelation that Davidson tracks specific individuals’ ballots is just the latest in a cascade of head-scratching and odd behavior that has continued to attract the attention of the Lieutenant Governor’s Office and the director of elections.
Today, he admitted to tracking how local elected officials return their ballots, as if that information is somehow relevant to his role in fairly and securely administering an election. Additionally, this practice arguably violates Article IV, Section 8 of the Constitution of the State of Utah, which states that “All elections […] shall be by secret ballot.”
Of course, Davidson will claim that the constitutional mandate of ballot secrecy doesn’t cover the method of ballot return. But playing cute with constitutional language isn’t in his job description.
I also have more questions about how expansive his list of private ballot information is, what other type of voting information he’s squirreling away, with whom he’s sharing it, and how he’s securing his lists of who, what, when, and how.
During the recent distribution of November ballots, the County Clerk’s Office delayed the delivery of essential voter information pamphlets for an unknown reason. That delay wasn’t because the pamphlets weren’t ready for distribution. We may never know why they were delayed and why voters had ballots without the mandated information. I’m sure the official reason will deflect any act or omission by Davidson’s office.
Perhaps the voter information pamphlets were delayed because Davidson was busy doing something else. Davidson spent a lot of time researching and drafting an opinion about how the Davis County Clerk verified Governor Cox’s signature packets. He released his memorandum last week with the salutation “To Those Who Care.” The same memorandum also criticized the role of the Lieutenant Governor’s Office. I’d rather the Utah County Clerk focus on officiating his first presidential election, which also coincides with two propositions that could permanently change the educational landscape in Utah County.
Davidson’s memorandum reminds me of Attorney General Sean Reyes’ errand to Nevada in 2020 to (along with attending a political rally) inspect and opine on what he saw concerning election practices in the state. Davidson’s memorandum also brings up the questions I still have about Reyes’ Nevada jaunt. Did Davidson utilize public funds, equipment, systems, subscriptions, time, etc., in his pursuit?
Let’s also remember the misleading language on ballot return envelopes and instructions associated with returning a ballot by mail. Davidson has long criticized voting by mail, so he led voters to believe that they must affix postage to a ballot envelope. That was and is patently false. It was and is nothing more than an attempt to suppress a legal and secure voting method and force an electorate to pick one of his two preferred voting methods. The Lieutenant Governor issued a corrective statement that an unstamped envelope would be delivered to the County Clerk’s Office despite what the envelopes and instructions say.
There were also concerning discrepancies with a new voting form (“Fast Cast”) that Davidson implemented for the primary election in June. Fast Cast allows voters to fill out a ballot and bring it to a polling station for tabulation. Nineteen more ballots were cast than voters who checked in at polling locations. 16 of the 19 were in Lehi. Additionally, the Lieutenant Governor’s Office report states that Davidson’s Fast Cast also requires that a tabulator’s key security feature be disabled and could allow for multiple ballots to be scanned by a single voter. The state was also concerned with Davidson’s office’s high signature rejection rate for ballots delivered by mail. In a feckless attempt to “increase” election security, he exponentially decreased election security and disenfranchised some mail-in voters by imposing his own signature verification standards.
Let’s not forget that he manually changed a candidate’s filing form in February, drawing a reprimand for not following directions from the state elections office. His reasoning for changing a candidate’s form contrary to instructions from the elections office? The County Clerk’s Office relies on inferring a voter’s intent all the time, so why not use that same method to modify a document that’s already signed, dated, and otherwise certified?
I won’t go back any further to remind readers of other odd behavior and strange decisions. It’s clear that Davidson sees his role as a means to personal ends. But I will point to another date in 2024. That date is March 25, the day Cache County Clerk/Auditor David Benson’s resignation became effective after a tenure of election-related issues. In the same spirit, I believe that Aaron Davidson should resign.
