NEPHI, Utah — Criminal charges have been filed against the former Juab County Clerk, accusing her of destroying ballots from the 2020 and 2022 elections.
Alaina Lofgran was charged by the Utah Attorney General's Office on Thursday with eight counts including willful neglect of duty, destroying ballots, destroying public records, all third-degree felonies; tampering with ballots, a class A misdemeanor; improper distribution of ballots and unofficial misconduct, a class B misdemeanor.
She was issued a summons to appear in court. Lofgran did not immediately respond to a message from FOX 13 News seeking comment.
The case against Lofgran began when Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson sought an investigation earlier this year. An affidavit filed with the charges accused Lofgran of not preserving thousands of ballots from the 2020 election for the 22 months required by law. They were discovered missing as a result of a lawsuit over elections in the county.
Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes' office alleges ballots from the 2022 election were found in a shred bin.
"A week or two later, shortly after Thanksgiving 2022, the deputy county clerk observed Defendant putting the 2022 ballots in the shred bin again. The deputy county clerk asked Defendant what she was doing. Defendant responded that they had completed the election reports and stated, 'we don’t need them anymore,' referring to the 2022 ballots," Utah Attorney General's investigator B. Smith wrote in the affidavit. "The deputy county clerk questioned Defendant, asking if the office had 'learn[ed] our lesson' about throwing the ballots out. Defendant repeated that the county did not need the ballots anymore."
The investigator with the attorney general's office said that when questioned, Lofgran told them "she knew that ballots needed to be preserved and knew there were criminal ramifications if election processes were not conducted properly."
"Defendant told agents that she put the 2020 ballots and associated records for the 2020 elections in 'the vault,' a basement storage room in the Juab County Offices," the agent wrote. "A search of the Juab County Offices, including the 'vault,' in March 2023 produced the following: (1) a cardboard banker box labeled, '2022 General Election,' which held 260 undeliverable or otherwise spoiled ballots; (2) a plastic tote with no lid labeled '2020 General Election,' which held 2,088 presidential primary ballots; (3) a cardboard banker box labeled '2022 Primary Election,' which contained 261 undeliverable or spoiled ballots; and (4) a cardboard box labeled '2022 Primary Election,' which contained with 2,474 ballots."
"The 4,795 ballots that were cast in Juab County and counted in the 2022 general election were not found, nor were any ballot envelopes. 24. There was a total of 5,932 ballots cast in Juab County in the 2020 general election. Most of the 2020 general election ballots and envelopes were not found."
In a statement to FOX 13 News, Lt. Gov. Henderson said the incident did not impact the outcome of the elections.
"These charges are serious and reflect the heavy responsibility of county clerks to uphold election law. Public trust demands accountability of those who swear oaths to fulfill their duties with fidelity and then fail to do so," she said. "The 2022 election, administered by Ms. Lofgran, was properly certified by the Juab County Commission. We have no reason to believe her actions affected its outcome."
