Latest news with #Lyman
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lyman launches lawsuit claiming Utah is violating national election transparency law
Former gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman launched another legal battle against Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson on Friday, alleging that Utah voter privacy laws violate federal statute and demanding that he receive access to state voter registration information. The organization representing Lyman, the Public Interest Legal Foundation, a national nonprofit firm focused on election transparency, said they filed the lawsuit on Friday morning in the Utah District of the United States District Court. During his race against Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, Lyman filed a number of unsuccessful lawsuits, including one he filed by himself asking the Utah Supreme Court — and then the U.S. Supreme Court — to overturn the results of his 2024 election loss to Cox in the primary and general contests. 'I'm not interested in election integrity because I ran for governor, I ran for governor because I'm interested in election integrity,' Lyman said Friday. Lyman was joined by around 150 supporters on the south steps of Utah Capitol Building who repeatedly made statements about Lyman being 'cheated' out of an election and Lyman being the rightful governor of the state of Utah. But whereas Lyman has spent the past year making unsubstantiated allegations of corruption against Henderson, the lawsuit filed Friday takes a narrow approach that the Public Interest Legal Foundation has used several times before to win cases across the country. 'This isn't about the lieutenant governor; this is about the Utah statute that doesn't comply with federal law,' Chris Adams, the president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, told the Deseret News. Utah law allows voters to make their voter registration information private and unavailable for public information requests. Only government employees acting in their official capacity and political parties can access this information. Utah law also classifies the voter registration records of some 'protected individuals' as 'withheld,' meaning it cannot be accessed by political parties; only government employees acting in their official capacity. This designation applies to voters who are public figures, law enforcement officers, members of the armed forces, victims of domestic violence, those with a protection order, and all those who had already opted for their information to be private before the 'withheld' designation was created in 2020. A request for voter registration rolls from Nov. 3, 2020, revealed that nearly 34% of the 610,000 voter registration records in Salt Lake County had either 'private' status (16%) or were 'withheld' (18%), according to the lawsuit. Lyman's lawsuit, obtained by the Deseret News, argues that Utah's opt-in privacy designations, and expanded 'withheld' category from 2020 — which are both unique in the United States — are illegal under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. The 32-year-old law requires state DMVs to provide voter registration when individuals obtain a driver's license. But it also mandates that states create a process for members of the public to inspect all 'voter list maintenance records,' including the final statewide voter registration database. 'No other state in the country does what Utah does and block public records from the public simply by marking a box that 40% of the people have hidden records,' Adams told the Deseret News. 'No state in the country even comes close to them.' The case does not allege any 'malfeasance' by state officials, Adams clarified. It argues that the state law allowing for increased voter privacy should never have been passed because, under the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, federal statute trumps state authority. The lawsuit states that Lyman reached out to the Lieutenant Governor's Office in September seeking access to the complete statewide voter registration database 'pursuant to the National Voter Registration Act.' Lyman allegedly never received a response. Following a subsequent request in October, Lyman was allegedly directed toward the public version of the statewide voter roll but was denied full access because of the state law. On March 7, the Public Interest Legal Foundation on behalf of Lyman, notified Henderson that they believed she was in violation of the National Voter Registration Act, and that they would file a lawsuit if the state did not comply within 90 days. 'The Office of the Lieutenant Governor has received letters from the Public Interest Legal Foundation. We're working through their requests and will respond according to law,' the lieutenant governor's spokesperson told the Deseret News in a statement. 'We've evaluated state election and privacy law, and the NVRA, and are confident in our compliance with both.' The statement continues: 'While our office does not comment on pending or active litigation, we have not been served a lawsuit and, according to the latest correspondence with PILF and according to the NVRA, the office has until mid August to respond to the requests and to address the concerns raised. The office will submit responses within that statutory timeline.' Over the past few years, the Public Interest Legal Foundation, based out of Alexandria, Virginia, has won a number of lawsuits focused on compliance with the National Voter Registration Act, including in Illinois, Maine and Maryland. They have also experienced victories, which have been appealed, in ongoing cases in Hawaii, South Carolina, Minnesota and Wisconsin. If Lyman's lawsuit is successful, Utah's voter privacy statute would be struck down. The lawsuit also asks the judge to order Henderson to give Lyman 'the full and complete Statewide Voter Registration List, including registrations classified as 'private' or improperly classified as 'withheld.'' This would include the names, addresses, contact information and voter registration dates for all Utah voters except for those who have applied for 'withheld' status since the designation was created in 2020, according to Adams. 'We do this all over the country. We don't lose these cases on the merits,' Adams said. In every state where it obtains voter registration information, the Public Interest Legal Foundation then also conducts a review looking for voter roll issues. A Utah legislative audit report released in December identified 1,400 deceased voters who were still on Utah voter rolls. Of these individuals, 700 likely received ballots and two cast a vote in the November 2023 election. The audit also found 300 duplicate records and 450 records where multiple people were apparently registered using the same driver's license number. 'We identified voters who appeared to cast ballots inappropriately in each of these areas of analysis,' the audit said.
Sky News AU
5 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘Racist babies?': Woke federal education program yet another example of ‘wasteful' spending
The Federalist elections correspondent Brianna Lyman has spoken on a federal education program that warned teachers about babies being racist and changing the lyrics to 'Old MacDonald'. 'Our test scores … have declined since the creation of the Department of Education,' Ms Lyman told Sky News host James Morrow. 'Where is the money actually being put toward? 'This is another example of wasteful federal spending.'
Telegraph
23-05-2025
- Science
- Telegraph
Russian soldiers' ‘drone-proof' thermal coats actually mark them for attack
Russian soldiers are struggling to hide from Ukrainian drones, despite being given coats and blankets designed to hide them from thermal and night vision sensors. The garments are intended to mask body heat, making soldiers harder to detect with night-vision and infrared optics. However they are constructed with faulty technology, and troops are often given inadequate training in how to use them. Rather than concealing body heat, the coats create cold spots against a warmer natural environment, making bold black targets for Ukraine to strike. 'This is no invisibility cloak,' Hamish de Bretton-Gordon, a former British Army colonel and chemical weapons expert, told The Telegraph. 'In fact, because of the contrast, it makes them more acquirable than less.' Ukrainian drones, often operated by special forces or intelligence units, combine thermal imaging with real-time targeting capabilities. This technology allows Ukraine to conduct precise strikes even at night, taking out hidden or camouflaged Russian positions. Russian soldiers are now being sent towards the enemy believing the equipment will keep them safe from attacks. But video footage and photographs taken in Lyman earlier this week show soldiers standing out more than ever as Ukrainian drones hover low behind them. The soldiers moved towards positions held by the Ukrainian army's 63rd Mechanised Brigade with coats draped over their shoulders before a barrage of first-person view (FPV) drones descended on them. The 'funny occupiers in the Lyman region… put on anti-drone raincoats and thought that now they are safe,' the brigade said after the attack. A different Russian assault group used higher-quality thermal blankets but lacked proper training on how to use them effectively. They could be seen with their legs, arms, or heads peeking out from the covers, suddenly highlighting where they were standing. Nick Reynolds, research fellow for land warfare at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), said that there have been 'instances of incompetence by Russian personnel who clearly do not understand how to use their equipment'. Mr de Bretton-Gordon added: 'It does highlight how difficult it is to hide on today's battlefield... They need to cover their whole bodies.' Details found online showed Russian versions of the suits on sale for just $47 USD. Improvements in Ukrainian technology are also making it even harder for Russians to hide. 'Thermal cameras on drones are both improving and becoming cheaper as manufacturing processes improve,' explained Mr Reynolds. Ukrainian soldiers have previously used thermal camouflage suits, reportedly to much better effect than their Russian adversaries. The suits, which weigh 2.5 kilograms, are made by a variety of multilayer materials, in particular polymers, microfibres, and fabrics interspersed with metal particles. 'Our goal is to disguise the military and equipment from the enemy as reliably as possible,' Vitalii Polovenko, the deputy defence minister, said last year.
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Is Mike Lee the establishment now? Here's why some Lyman Republicans think so
The state GOP convention on Saturday cracked a faction of the Utah Republican Party that had held firm for more than a decade. Utah Sen. Mike Lee — the party's favorite product of the caucus system since his 2010 upset — took the stage to endorse his longtime friend, Rob Axson, for reelection as GOP chair. 'I'm here, not to tell you how to vote, but to ask for your help,' Lee told the 2,600 delegates in attendance. 'I can't think of anyone who has done more to mobilize and unify our delegate base.' By the time he stepped down Lee had become, in the minds of at least a few of the most fervent grassroots activists, a player in what they consider to be the state's establishment machine. How Lee, one of the most consistently conservative lawmakers in Congress, could be viewed as an enemy by part of the GOP base came down to his repeated support for opponents of former state lawmaker Phil Lyman. Over the course of a year, Lyman's unsuccessful bid for governor, noted for its unsubstantiated allegations of corruption and its historic write-in results, drew the zealous devotion of many of the party's most engaged members. In that race, too, Lee endorsed the incumbent, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, to the disappointment of Lyman, who began reposting messages on X calling for Lee to lose in a primary. (Lyman later said this was a mistake by his campaign staff.) But it was Lee's appearance at the convention that proved the tipping point for some of Lyman's most loyal defenders, who were, until then, also counted among Lee's most outspoken advocates. In the hours and days following the convention, the most common posts on X referencing the senator were those criticizing him for his endorsement of Axson — who defeated Lyman with 52.4% of the vote. 'I absolutely believe Mike Lee should be primaried,' said Sophie Anderson, a state delegate from Davis County and one of Lyman's most dedicated volunteers. Anderson said she is a member of dozens of group chats with fellow party activists where there is a 'sizable number' of people who feel the same way about Lee as she does. While Anderson believes that Lee started out in Congress committed to reflecting the party grassroots, she said that over time the 'pressures of the establishment' have made Lee part of 'the establishment.' But much of Utah's Republican Party would say that Lee's 14 years in the Senate show the opposite. Few lawmakers have put up greater barriers to government spending increases, pushed harder against taxpayer funded abortions and pressured leadership more to follow proper budget processes than Lee. There is 'no daylight' between Lee and the most conservative wing of the Utah Republican Party, despite some hurt feelings caused by the GOP leadership race, according to Lee's chief strategist, Dan Hauser. Lee remains friends with most of Lyman's closest supporters, Hauser said, even as some of the 'inner circle' of Lyman's campaign have come out on social media to call Lee 'the establishment' — a claim Hauser considers laughable. 'If the most conservative senator in the nation — who wants to starve off the special interest groups that (the Department of Government Efficiency) found guilty of $100s of billions of dollars in waste, fraud and abuse, while also trying to shrink the size and scope of the government — is now establishment, then God bless America and the strong future that is coming," Hauser said. Regardless of how small or large the faction is of Lee's newfound critics, their reaction to the convention reveals something about the trajectory of conservative politics in the state, said Jason Perry, director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics. There appears to be a shift 'within the MAGA movement itself,' which may be overrepresented on social media, that judges candidates by an evolving definition of what it means to be 'anti-establishment' instead of their conservative track record, according to Perry. 'No one really looks at Mike Lee and thinks that he has not been a leader in the conservative space,' Perry said. 'But to some of those Lyman supporters, that is not enough.' Spencer Stokes, president of lobbying firm Stokes Strategies and Lee's former chief of staff, said he has never seen a senator make themselves more available to delegates than Lee. For example, throughout his tenure, Lee has never changed his personal phone number and he has remained more consistent in his ideological stances than most politicians, Stokes said, calling Lee 'the most principled elected official that I've seen in my lifetime.' 'He is anything but an establishment candidate,' Stokes said. 'If you say that, you somewhat lose your credibility in the social media world you're in, because I don't think there's anybody in the state of Utah that would call Mike Lee an establishment candidate.' Stokes doubts that Lee will face a legitimate challenge from his right in 2028 because it would be nearly impossible to find a conservative 'more dedicated to their cause than Mike Lee.' But that doesn't mean someone won't challenge Lee from what Stokes called 'the fringe." While social media algorithms often exaggerate extreme viewpoints, Mitt Romney's former chief of staff Matt Waldrip said not to underestimate the ability of pro-Lyman delegates to shape the state GOP. 'The active party members do have influence on what happens in the party around the state, and everyone capitulates to them in one way or another,' Waldrip said. 'So it actually does matter that you have these people that are torn up about this.' And Waldrip doesn't see the criticisms of Lee as stemming purely from anger over his endorsement of Lyman's opponents. It is true that with the rise of President Donald Trump officials like Lee have become something of an 'establishment,' Waldrip said, and there are real ways in which Lee has strayed from the priorities of the GOP base. Unlike with past massive spending packages, Waldrip pointed out, Lee has remained relatively quite on the 'big, beautiful bill' making its way through Congress which could increase the federal debt by $4-7 trillion over the next decade. Lee previously made a name for himself arguing that Congress had ceded too much power to the executive branch, Waldrip said. But Lee has not come out in opposition to Trump's flurry of executive orders, including his actions on tariffs, which Lee introduced a bill in 2021 to prevent. But for one conservative influencer in Utah, the entire debate around Lee is evidence that 'the conservative movement in Utah seems to be falling apart at the seams.' Following the convention, Eric Moutsos, who posts prolifically about what he proudly calls 'conspiracy theories,' said that despite having some disagreements with Lee, Lyman and other prominent conservatives, he will never attack them publicly. 'Does this mean I will necessarily vote for any of them in certain races? It does not,' Moutsos said, adding, 'To me real conservatism also means being smart enough not to go after people who share the majority of your values and beliefs.'
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Utah Republican Party sticks with ‘bridge builder' Rob Axson as chair; Lyman loses
Utah Republican Party Chair Rob Axson, running for reelection, speaks with delegates during the party's organizing convention at Utah Valley University on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Katie McKellar/Utah News Dispatch) The Utah GOP's state delegates have charted the next chapter for the state's dominant political party — sticking with an incumbent who characterized himself as a 'bridge builder' rather than a burner. With nearly 67% turnout during their organizing convention at Utah Valley University in Orem on Saturday, 2,645 Utah Republican Party state delegates voted to reelect Rob Axson as their party chair, handing another loss to his challenger and unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman. Axson won with about 54% (1,430 votes), to Lyman's nearly 46% (1,215 votes), according to the party's election results. The vote settled what many delegates considered a toss-up contest — but Axson won with a healthy majority. Though Lyman and his 'Make Utah Great Again' campaign was given a warm reception with loud cheers from passionate supporters, Axson was a formidable incumbent, buoyed by an endorsement from President Donald Trump about a week before the convention. To Axson, his victory showed delegates 'want to see more' of what he's started in the Utah Republican Party. 'They want to see additional momentum. They want to see growth,' Axson told reporters after his win. 'They've seen what I've delivered over the last two years … and that is now the new foundation. Let's build from there.' Axson — who championed his fundraising record as chair of the party since 2023 and framed himself as a 'bridge builder' rather than a burner — was also endorsed by other Utah Republican Party heavyweights, including Sen. Mike Lee and other Utahns in Congress, as well as high-ranking state leaders including House Speaker Mike Schultz, and former party chair Carson Jorgensen. Axson or Lyman? Utah Republican delegates to elect their next leader Lyman, on the other hand, campaigned against the 'establishment,' continuing a barrage of unsubstantiated claims that he peddled during his unsuccessful bid last year against Gov. Spencer Cox that there's 'corruption' and election fraud in Utah government. In the end, though, delegates signaled they liked the track Axson has put the party on over the last two years, while they rejected Lyman's pitch for a more combative — perhaps even unlawful — future GOP. While challenging Axson for party chair, Lyman painted himself as a leader who would position the Utah GOP to more aggressively assert its capability to select Republican nominees rather than follow SB54, a 2014 state law that allows a dual path to the primary through both the caucus and convention process and through signature gathering. Though Axson also agreed Utah Republicans should continue fighting SB54, he disagreed with taking Lyman's approach, which Axson argued would amount to breaking the law. Instead, Axson said the party should focus on working with the Utah Legislature to change the law. During his speech, Axson told delegates that SB54 'still undermines the principles of our party.' However, he also said 'the law is the law, and claiming otherwise is not a strategy for success, no matter how loudly you do so.' 'We must repeal SB54, but we cannot unless we are united,' he said. 'We can't beat SB54 if we spend all our time beating one another.' Without naming Lyman during his speech, Axson said there's a 'clear difference between me and others: I am not willing to break the law, especially to break the law in a way that will jeopardize our Republican candidates and force them to get signatures instead of leaning into the delegate process that we all believe in.' Axson also touted the endorsement from Trump, along with support from members of Utah's congressional delegation and others. 'Ultimately if we want to be successful beyond the next 20 years, if we hope to bring the next generation into the Republican Party, we must build,' he said. Lyman, during his speech, didn't specifically address SB54 or specifics about his vision as party leader, but he focused on his philosophical stance for a government that 'belongs to the people.' 'I wish that I lived in 1765 back in Boston,' Lyman said, adding that if he did, 'I would have been a member of the Sons of Liberty,' referring to a secretive and sometimes violent political organization in the 13 American Colonies that worked to fight taxation by the British government. 'I would have been there in 1770 when the Boston Massacre occurred, I would have been there in 1773 when the (Boston) Tea Party took place,' Lyman said. 'Because those people were pushing back against the government that did not have their interests at heart. That's what we're about.' Lyman said the Sons of Liberty were 'called all kinds of horrible names too, including bridge burners, but they actually burned bridges to impede the direction of their enemy.' Lyman also issued a call to action to unite Utah Republicans, regardless of the outcome of the race for GOP chair. 'From this point, we will be united,' he said. 'I will stand behind Rob Axson. He's a friend of mine. I love Donald Trump, he's my president. I've supported him. I appreciate Sen. Lee. … I recognize their efforts, I support them.' But Lyman concluded his speech by telling delegates 'this is a time for you.' 'This is your party. The Republican Party is yours. And today you will decide what direction this party takes,' he said, to loud cheers. On full display throughout the convention was Republican delegates' continued hatred of SB54. Utah lawmakers passed the law more than 10 years ago as a compromise to ward off a looming ballot initiative to do away with the caucus and convention system altogether in favor of signature gathering. But ever since, Utah Republican Party caucus system loyalists have despised the law, even though it's survived multiple court challenges that almost drove the Utah GOP to bankruptcy. It's become one of the largest wedges dividing Utah Republicans, and Republicans' strategy to continue fighting it was at the heart of the contest between Axson and Lyman. But if there was an early indication that most delegates weren't in favor of taking a scorched earth approach to challenge SB54 further, one of the first votes they took Saturday morning was to strip from the agenda a proposed amendment to the party's constitution that would temporarily revoke a Republican candidate's party membership if they gain access to the ballot through signature gathering rather than through the caucus and convention system. State law specifies two types of political parties: registered parties and qualified political parties. Candidates of registered parties must use signature gathering to access the ballot, while candidates of qualified parties (a designation the Utah GOP currently functions under), can either gather signatures or be nominated at convention. Utah law does not have a designation that lets parties only allow ballot access through nomination. If the state GOP's proposed amendment to strip a candidate's party membership for using a legal pathway to the ballot had passed, it would have violated state law and possibly could have led to yet another court challenge. The amendment's sponsor, Arnold Gaunt, motioned to remove it from the agenda, saying 'there's a better path for responding to the problem.' Axson told reporters that he's 'not a fan' of SB54 and the signature gathering path, but he focused his message on 'not lawsuits, not division, not purity tests. It's building something that can't be ignored.' 'If we build an apparatus that every Utahn and every community feels that there's a value in that, well they're going to come along with us,' Axson said. 'They're going to be supportive of what we're trying to do, and the Legislature is going to listen to that.' Axson said his preference would be for the Legislature to repeal SB54. Pressed on whether that's a real possibility, he told reporters 'the votes are there in the House' while they're 'not there yet in the Senate.' 'But it can't be a vitriolic conversation. It's not threats. It has to be a conversation that's transparent and up front and collaborative,' Axson said. 'If we can show the value of what the Republican Party is doing … and trying to grow and build additional capacity, we make it a lot easier on these elected officials to take the hard votes of repealing SB54.' However, Axson acknowledged 'it's going to take some time.' 'How long or how short that is, I don't know,' Axson said. 'But I do know we have in our ability the opportunity to build a strong party, and that will be a benefit in repealing SB54 or solving other complex issues.' The morning of the convention, Axson's predecessor, former Utah GOP Chair Carson Jorgensen, was chatting up delegates wearing an Axson button on his shirt. He said Axson is the right leader for the party, lauding him as a proven organizer and fundraiser who helped bring the party out of bankruptcy after multiple failed legal challenges of SB54. Jorgensen said Axson will take the right approach by focusing on working with lawmakers to strengthen the caucus-convention system rather than more lawsuits. Are delegates in touch with Utah voters? Survey reveals where they 'align and diverge' 'I like Phil personally as a friend, I think he's a nice guy,' Jorgensen said. 'But here's the thing. There are three ways we're going to navigate SB54, and only three. One is the lawsuit route. We've tried it. It doesn't work. Phil is 0 for 5 on lawsuits. The party can't afford another lawsuit.' Jorgensen said the next option is a 'legislative fix,' which requires a 'relationship with the Legislature.' 'Sorry, but Phil has burned every — every — bridge he had with any legislator,' Jorgensen said. The last option, he said, is the party opts to hold its own primary. 'What does that take? Money,' Jorgensen said. 'If the party's going to hold their own primary, they've got to fund it. We figure between $1.5 and $3 million to run it. Rob has shown he can raise that kind of money.' So Axson has 'two of the three that need to happen, and Phil doesn't have any,' Jorgensen concluded. 'That's why I support Rob.' Jorgensen also issued a call to Utah Republicans to set their differences aside and coalesce behind the new chair. 'Everybody needs to get back on the same page. This has been a pretty toxic election,' he said, adding that someone recently called him an 'establishment RHINO hack.' To that, he said, 'you obviously don't know me and you're on the wrong side of things, because you don't find anybody more conservative than I am.' Utah's SB54 still stands despite 10 years of angst. Will lawmakers change it? Another Axson supporter seen mingling with delegates was House Speaker Mike Schultz, R-Hooper, who was also acting as a delegate Saturday. He told Utah News Dispatch that he'd be voting for Axson for party chair 'because we need somebody to bring all sides together.' 'That's what we do in the Legislature,' Schultz said. 'We have to work to find common ground.' Why not Lyman? Schultz declined to comment, focusing his remarks instead on his support of Axson. Trump's endorsement of Axson, Schultz said, indicates Trump 'has noticed something different about Utah.' 'He has embraced Utah and sees Utah as being able to help push the agenda that he's pushing on a nationwide level,' Schultz said. 'I think that's why you saw President Trump chime in and say, what you're doing in Utah is working, stick with it.' Schultz added that Utah Republicans need to realize 'if we split up our party, we lose.' 'If the party gets split, it's the best thing that can happen for Democrats in the state of Utah,' he said. 'So finding ways to keep the party together keeps Utah Republican, it keeps Utah conservative. That's what President Trump sees and that's why I'm supporting Rob Axson.' Pressed on efforts to repeal SB54, Schultz told Utah News Dispatch he and lawmakers are open to working with the Utah Republican Party to find a path forward that's focused on strengthening the caucus and convention system — but he also warned that completely undoing SB54 could have negative consequences. 'Count My Vote has been very open and saying that they will run a ballot initiative that does away with the caucus convention altogether,' he said. 'I think that would be very harmful to the grassroots of our party.' Schultz added: 'I love the caucus convention system because it does keep money out of politics. So I would like to look for ways to make the caucus and convention system stronger and get their people involved in the caucus and convention system.' 'That is a good pathway forward,' he said, but he didn't offer any specifics of what that could look like in legislative action. 'I truly don't know,' he said, 'but I think we need to understand the consequences of (undoing SB54). We look at the polling, and it's not even close. If it goes to ballot initiative, we lose the caucus and convention system. And I think that would be horrible. I would rather find ways to make the caucus and convention system stronger.' Wearing a maroon MUGA hat in support of Lyman, Tiffany Mendenhall, of Ivins, said she was all in favor of Lyman for chair. Signature audit finds 'some errors' — but Cox still ultimately qualified for primary 'Lyman has our best interest at heart,' she said, adding that she didn't like the outcome of the governor's race last year and the direction the Utah GOP has been heading. 'Phil is very well aware of what's going on with all the crookedness and all of that stuff. He intends to get us back to more traditional voting methods so that there's no fraud.' Though Utah's election was certified and Cox legally qualified as a Republican candidate before he went on to win the election, Mendenhall said she believed the governor's race was 'absolutely stolen,' arguing he 'didn't have the signatures.' While signature gathering audits did find 'some errors' and that based on statistical error rates Cox could have initially fallen short of the 28,000-signature requirement, auditors also reported that had clerks told him he hadn't qualified (which they didn't), he would have had 28 days more days to submit enough signatures. Ultimately, the audits concluded Cox followed the law and qualified for the primary. Mendenhall, however, stood firm on the false claim that Lyman has repeatedly pushed throughout both his gubernatorial and Utah GOP chair campaigns — that Cox was an illegitimate candidate and 'stole' the election. 'You can't tell us that it wasn't. And so how can we feel that we have a fair election when our governor in charge is a cheat?' Mendenhall said. She argued Axson hasn't done enough to challenge what happened during the governor's race. 'He hasn't stood up to take care of this. This shouldn't have happened.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
