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Activists and some Utah lawmakers push for audit of 2020 election

Posted at 5:24 PM, Oct 20, 2021
and last updated 2021-10-20 20:06:27-04

SALT LAKE CITY — Election integrity was a major focus on Capitol Hill Wednesday.

Despite Donald Trump winning Utah in 2020, some want an investigation into every vote cast in the 2020 election.

A large group of people and some Utah lawmakers filled the steps of the Capitol as well as the house walls to call for an audit of the 2020 election.

Representative Steve Christiansen has been critical of vote-by-mail, even though it is very popular in Utah.

“Often times people will come up to me and say why do you care? Trump won in Utah, for me it goes much deeper than Donald J. Trump,” said Representative Steve Christiansen.

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Some other states have already conducted audits, like Arizona, costing that state an estimated 6 to 8 million dollars.

Utah’s own Governor Spencer Cox has been critical of an election audit, saying in December it would “be a waste of taxpayer money.”

At Wednesday’s hearing, Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson said Utah has extremely secure elections. She cited safeguards like Utah Real ID, public audits, not connecting any equipment to the internet, and secure drop boxes.

After a nearly three-hour hearing, the legislature’s judiciary committee took no action. They moved on the agenda. It remains unclear if any legislation will emerge from the hearing.