Lyman seeks unredacted list of those who signed Gov. Cox’s ballot petition
Jul 8, 2024, 8:28 PM | Updated: Sep 4, 2024, 11:07 am
(Isaac Hale, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Rep. Phil Lyman, R-Blanding, has filed a complaint, stating he wants an unredacted list from Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson’s office. He wants the office to be more transparent about whose signatures were gathered to get her and Gov. Spencer Cox on the ballot.
Lyman, who ran against Cox for governor, filed the complaint in 3rd District Court Monday morning. He said they submitted a records request and received only a heavily redacted list from Henderson’s office. Lyman said the list did not reveal about 40% of the names.
However, a Utah law that Lyman supported makes signatures private information that voters can choose to keep private.
“We’re not asking for signatures,” Lyman said. “When we ask for a list of signatures, it doesn’t mean we want the signatures. We want the list of people who signed, and they’re required to give us the list of people who signed that petition.”
An unredacted list would allow “independent verification,” Lyman said
The new complaint asks for the unredacted list so Lyman can independently verify who signed Cox’s petition and the petitions for former House Speaker Brad Wilson’s and former Utah GOP Chairman Derek Brown’s campaigns.
“We want to get the signatures from Washington County so we can do a cross reference, as well as from some other candidates,” Lyman said.
Representatives from the lieutenant governor’s office said they cannot comment on any ongoing cases.
Cox and Henderson beat Lyman and his running mate, Natalie Clawson, 54% to 46%, but Lyman has yet to concede.