With the resolution of the grace period for late arrivals and the election canvassing process concluded, the results of the 2024 Utah Republican Primary Election can now be made official. Following a report from local county election specialists, the Kane County Commission discussed the certification of election results on Tuesday, July 9, and ultimately voted two-to-one to certify local results.
Certification this year was a more complex subject than it traditionally has been, due to some concerns of ballots being improperly labeled as delivered late as a result of travel times and processing delays in the Las Vegas postal processing facility. These concerns are triggering a recount for some state-level races, such as the almost 50/50 vote split between Colby Jenkins and Celeste Maloy for U.S. House Seat 2.
However, Kane County’s elections were deemed to be mostly unaffected by the late ballot processing. Said Commissioner Wade Heaton on the topic, “Full disclosure, I am one of the candidates on this ballot, and if this issue ended with me winning the election, I’d recuse myself from this vote … if these ballots were to affect these electoral races I would agree, but I don’t think the numbers raise to that level.” Heaton and fellow Commissioner Patty Kubeja voted to certify the election, carrying the certification against the “nay” vote of Commissioner Celeste Meyeres, who said, “I can’t feel comfortable making a decision that tramples on even one voter’s rights.” As such, Gwen Brown is officially and formally the candidate for Kane County Commission Seat C.
The decision remains in question on the state level, however. Between the delayed ballot questions and the extremely tight voting margins between Maloy and Jenkins, election officials in Utah are conducting a recount to confirm the results. As of the last report, Maloy was still in the lead by one-fifth of a percent - 214 votes in a race of 107,282. The questioned polls are more than enough to turn this race on its head. Notably, despite the concerns stated, no Utah county has yet refused to certify the election; even Iron County, where the concerns began and whose Clerk and one member of the Commission issued fiery statements rejecting the ballots, ultimately certified the election two-to-one.
Election results are regularly updated on electionresults.utah.gov, including specifically Kane County’s elections. The Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Office is still investigating the ballot processing questions, as well as conducting the recount for the House Seat 2 race, with information posted on ltgovernor.utah.gov.
