SALT LAKE CITY — Tuesday afternoon, Utah lawmakers had their first chance to scrutinize Rep. Mike Schultz’s Election Audit Requirements bill.
“HB 269 sets process in place for us to be able to go forward and audit every general election and every primary election that is associated with the general elections," said Rep. Schultz.
READ: What did your elected lawmakers just do? Real-time updates on 2023 Utah State Legislature
If passed into law, the Office of the Legislative Auditor General would have to conduct an audit of elections every other year. Election officials all over the state approve of the bill, Davis County Clerk Brian McKenzie said.
“We believe strongly that our elections are safe and secure," he said. "We believe that our elections have integrity. Do we believe our elections are 100% perfect? No, of course not. We are constantly looking for ways to improve our systems or processes.”
A 2021 audit found that Utah’s voting process is strong, but the state can give voters more confidence that they’re voting in fair elections, McKenzie said.
“I hope that our voters will be reassured that, hey, look, this is something that we're working on, and it's something that we're moving forward," he said.
Members of the House Government Operations Standing Committee unanimously voted in favor of the election audit bill, and it will next be voted on by the state's full House of Representatives.
