SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Dec. 21, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A 62-year-old Arizona man has been charged with improperly paying two people to gather voter signatures in the primary election to replace Rep. Chris Stewart in Utah’s 2nd Congressional District.
Timothy Francis Mooney, of Cave Creek, Arizona, was charged Wednesday with two counts of violation of certificate of nomination procedures, a class A misdemeanor.
Utah Election Code forbids paying compensation based directly on the number of voter signatures submitted, according to the Utah Attorney General’s Office.
Mooney agreed to pay $16 per gross signature, rather than an hourly rate or per verified signature, court documents say.
Charging documents do not identify the candidate for whom Mooney was gathering signatures.
The seat ultimately was won by Celeste Maloy, Stewart’s chief legal counsel and endorsed successor.
