PROVO, Utah — There are four more months until Utahns head to the polls, but Aaron Davidson, the Utah County Clerk, is already thinking of Election Day.
“I received more delegate votes at the republican convention than any other candidate that was running," he said. "So I feel that I have a mandate from my constituents, from the voters of this county, and they have confidence in me that I can run a fair and honest election.”
On Wednesday, county commissioners considered removing the full-time, career-service elections director position and adding a full-time, appointed chief deputy position, to work under the clerk.
“I have that right to decide how my office is going to run," said Davidson. "And I think that this is interference in me being able to do that.”
A professional elections director is hired by merit, meaning they must meet certain qualifications, and be independent, whereas a deputy would be hired by the clerk, most likely aligning with his political leaning.
The clerk needs an elections director with merit hired by the county, said Amelia Powers Gardner, County Commissioner.
“That gives us integrity," said Amelia Powers Gardner. "That is actually a protection against corruption. That's a protection against political whims. It literally protects the citizens and the county from corruption.”
Davidson’s supporters argued he should be able to choose whoever he wants to be his deputy.
“The level of frustration is so high that finally we as voters elected someone who had the same passion to figure out what is going on with our elections, show us what is happening," said one constituent.
Despite support for the clerk, the commissioners did not approve the change.
“The proposal to replace the full-time county employee with a partisan deputy just seems to make the elections more partisan," said Ladd Johnson, Chair of the United Utah Party. "It just doesn't seem like a good practice if you're trying to inspire confidence in the results of the election.”
This would spread more skepticism of election security, he said.
“When you run an election, you want to make sure that people don't have any doubt," said Johnson. "You want to make sure it's clear, people trust the results.”
