SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Nov. 5, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — A Salt Lake City judge has dismissed a lawsuit that alleged County Clerk Sherrie Swensen did not mail ballots on time to tens of thousands of Salt Lake County voters in advance of tomorrow’s 2018 General Election.
Following a one-hour hearing, Third District Court Judge Robert Faust dismissed the lawsuit filed Thursday by two Republican candidates for elected office, according to a news release from Salt Lake County District Attorney’s Office.
Rep. Dan McCay, (R-Riverton), and Republican county clerk candidate Rozan Mitchell sued Swensen, aiming to hold her accountable for thousands of mail-in ballots not reaching voters by an Oct. 16 deadline.
“Noting the two candidates might have been ‘confused,’ Judge Faust found that Ms. Swensen ‘fully and completely’ complied with Utah Election Law by mailing out almost 500,000 ballots on Oct. 8,” the news release said. Additional ballots were then mailed between then and Oct. 31 as additional voters registered to vote, or previously registered voters corrected their voter information to include a current address. All told, the Salt Lake County Clerk has mailed out almost 532,000 ballots, one to each active registered voter in the county.
Following the verdict, Swensen released a prepared statement:
“We have always gone above and beyond to ensure that every Salt Lake County voter has ample opportunities to vote — whether by mail-in ballot, at an early voting location, or in person on election day. It is truly unfortunate that this lawsuit, which appears to have been politically motivated, caused people to doubt whether their ballots would be received and if their votes would be counted. This lawsuit is a disservice to the voters of Salt Lake County.”
Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill, whose deputies Adam Miller and Bridget K. Romano represented Swensen at today’s hearing, also issued a statement:
“This lawsuit was an unfounded and unnecessary distraction from the important issues raised in this election cycle. For 28 years as the Salt Lake County Clerk, Sherrie has consistently provided excellent service to Salt Lake County voters. We are grateful Judge Faust agreed this year is no exception.”
Swensen also noted her office has already seen record voter turnout for a mid-term election. As of Monday, 52 percent of Salt Lake County voters had already returned their ballots.
DA Gill and Swensen are deciding whether to seek reimbursement to the taxpayers of attorney fees and costs incurred in connection with the suit.
Those wishing to vote in person, either later Monday or on Election Day, can look up early voting locations here and Election Day polling locations here on the Salt Lake County Clerk’s website. All Election Day polling locations are open to every voter, regardless of residence location. Valid identification is required; click here for more information.
