Utah Supreme Court dismisses Colby Jenkins’s lawsuit over CD2 GOP Primary

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Court denied Colby Jenkins’s petition to challenge the results of the Republican Primary election on Tuesday.

According to a court order signed by Chief Justice Matthew B. Durrant, “Jenkins has failed to adequately brief his constitutional challenges to subsection 20A-3a-204(2)(a) of the Utah Code, and he therefore has failed to meet his burden of demonstrating that he is entitled to the relief he seeks. Accordingly, we deny his petition for extraordinary relief.”

On July 29, the Utah Supreme Court heard arguments from lawyers representing Jenkins’s and the lieutenant governor’s offices regarding late-postmarked ballots. During the hearing, Jenkins’s lawyer argued that Utah’s postmark deadline law was unconstitutional because it relinquishes control of ballots to the United States Post Office.

“No power, civil or military, shall interfere to prevent the free exercise of suffrage,” said A.J. Ferate, Jenkins’ lawyer, reading from Utah’s Constitution during the hearing. “By statute, Utah has allowed by reliance on the Postal Service’s mail delivery practices similar interference in the state’s elections.”

Jenkins’s team claimed they possessed the third-party standing to allow him to argue on behalf of voters whose ballots were not counted.

However, according to a court order, the justices said they were not able to decide any of these claims in the petition due to the petition failing to establish what Jenkins exactly wanted.

“We need not decide whether Mr. Jenkins’ claims assert arguments that belong to other voters. Nor must we decide whether he possesses third-party standing. This is because his petition falls well short of establishing that he is entitled to the relief he seeks,” the order stated.

According to the order, Jenkins’s lawyers failed to identify “any instance where election officials failed to comply with any statutory mandate” and only focused on why Utah’s statutory postmark requirement was unconstitutional.

“First, he argues that the requirement results in differential treatment of ballots mailed by voters depending on where the mail is processed. Second, he argues that relying on the United States Postal Service to postmark ballots interferes with the fundamental right to vote,” the order stated. “Mr. Jenkins has failed to meet his burden of demonstrating an entitlement to the relief he requests because he has not adequately briefed either constitutional argument.”

According to the justices, Jenkins’s lawyers failed to give them “anything” that would allow the Utah Supreme Court to “conclude that the statutory postmark requirement invites unconstitutional interference with the right to vote.”

#BREAKING: The Utah Supreme Court has rejected @ColbyforUtah‘s emergency petition to count additional ballots in the #CD2 race citing failure to brief either argument he’s making.

I’m told his campaign will be sending a statement soon. @KSL5TV #utpol

Background:… pic.twitter.com/zrCxXVVnop

— Lindsay Aerts (@LindsayOnAir) August 14, 2024

After the decision, Rep. Celeste Maloy, who was declared the winner of the CD2 Primary race after the recount, released a statement on X thanking her supporters, county clerks, and the people in her district.

“With the recent Utah Supreme Court decision, I am grateful to our supporters, our county clerks, and the people of Utah’s 2nd Congressional District. I look forward to earning your vote again this November and working to advance Utah’s conservative agenda,” Maloy posted on X.

In a post on X, following the Court’s decision, Jenkin’s said “Today is a sad day for democracy.”

“This decision, which denies many citizen’s voices from being heard, raises serious concerns about the fairness and inclusivity in of our electoral process,” the post reads.

He cited the decision as an undermining of fundamental voting rights, and said it “sets a troubling precedent for future elections.”

“The fight for voter rights is far from over,” Jenkins said. “We urge the legislature and the governor to address this critical issue in the next legislative session to prevent such disenfranchisement from occurring in the future.”

Jenkins said he contacted Maloy to congratulate her victory.