My home state of Utah is one of the reddest on the electoral map. It also conducts its elections primarily by mail. That combination makes us both an outlier — and an easy target.
As a commissioner in the state’s second-largest county, and as a former county clerk who administered elections and oversaw our elections department, I understand the scrutiny. I’ve lived it. And as a Republican — and an engineer by training — I don’t believe any government process should be shielded from inspection.
Through relationships with election officials and policymakers across the country, I’ve learned this isn’t unique to Utah. There are many conservatives who believe taxpayer-funded systems should be put under bright lights. But we should also have the integrity to acknowledge when those reviews uncover real problems — and when they do not.
If that resonates with you, I invite you to read my open letter to members of the Utah Legislature, which I sent on Friday. Most states don’t run elections the way Utah does. But conservatives across the country may recognize the broader call: Examine honestly, speak truthfully, and defend what works.
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Dear Members of the Utah State Legislature,
I write with respect for your role and genuine concern about the direction of our election discourse. Utah has long been a model for secure, well-administered elections — not because the system is flawless, but because clerks and local officials work relentlessly to ensure every valid vote is counted and every voice respected.
Today we face a paradox: Voters express broad confidence in our system, while legislative messaging often signals doubt. Intended or not, that contradiction erodes earned trust and weakens the very institutional stability we claim to defend.
Utah voters continue to express strong confidence in vote-by-mail. In fact, net voter confidence in vote-by-mail increased from +51 in 2024 to +60 in 2025, driven by a 7-point drop in voters who said they were “not too confident” in the system.
While overall election confidence dipped slightly year over year, confidence in vote-by-mail moved in the opposite direction—demonstrating that Utahns remain comfortable with and trusting of the state’s mail-in voting framework when it remains accessible and secure.
Confidence is not uniform — and it should not be taken for granted — but the evidence clearly shows that Utahns trust their system more than many assume. For the most part, it’s deserved. A legislative audit of Utah’s election processes found no significant fraud, though it correctly called for improvements in areas like voter roll maintenance and audit compliance. Additionally, a thorough statewide review of more than two million voter registrations identified just one apparent noncitizen on the rolls — and that individual did not vote. These facts are not excuses for complacency. Instead, they’re evidence that systemic fraud simply doesn’t exist. Or, in other words, that fraud isn’t occurring on anywhere remotely near a scale that justifies broad, sweeping assertions of failed elections.
If We Believe in Election Integrity, We Must Ask Hard Questions.
Leadership begins with clarity, not with ambiguity.
So, let me ask you directly and respectfully:
- Do you believe any of your legislative colleagues won their election fraudulently? If so, who, how, and what evidence supports that belief?
- Do you believe your own election was won fraudulently?
- Do you believe Governor Spencer Cox is an illegitimate governor due to fraud? If so, are you willing to sponsor a formal resolution stating that?
- If not, then why adopt legislative messaging and proposals that indicate systemic breakdown in our election process?
Conservatives understand that claims without evidence damage institutions without improving them — and if the goal is to increase election confidence, this approach is counterproductive. Let’s be honest, then, about the effects of our policy choices:
- Continuous, sweeping election law changes make elections harder to administer. Administrators must retrain staff, rewrite procedures, reprogram systems, and educate voters — all while operating on tight budgets and compressed timelines.
- Those costs are real and often flow to county budgets funded through property taxes — a burden that many legislators say they oppose.
H.B. 479, which is currently under debate, carries an estimated fiscal note of $8 million. Counties do not have unlimited funding tools to absorb costs like that — our primary budgetary mechanism is property tax revenue. That means new mandates ultimately translate into increased pressure on local taxpayers. At the same time, Utah County is already absorbing approximately $2 million in additional costs due to legislation authorizing a fourth district court judge and the associated ancillary expenses. Layering another significant unfunded obligation on top of that is not insignificant — it has real, measurable impact at the local level.
Elections are complex and imperfect by nature — but imperfection is not illegitimacy. Utah’s system includes layered safeguards: canvass boards, audits, risk-limiting procedures, and certified training for election officials. That demands evidence-based improvements, not reaction-based overhauls.
Utah has proven we can innovate responsibly. Vote-by-mail has increased participation without sacrificing ballot integrity. Documented fraud is virtually nonexistent and, when it occurs, is isolated and inconsequential to outcomes. Fraud is never acceptable — but isolated incidents are not justification for dismantling a system that works for the vast majority of voters.
Legislators, continuous improvement is appropriate. But amplifying narratives that serve a narrow political niche over evidence that serves the entire state is destructive. I still believe you can lead with operational reality, not rhetoric — with facts, not fear. Election administrators welcome smart reforms that strengthen the system and improve voter experience. But sound policy requires clarity, not noise.
Respectfully,
Amelia Powers Gardner
Commissioner, Utah County
Amelia Powers Gardner is a Utah County, Utah, Commissioner. She previously was the county’s clerk/auditor.
An Open Letter to My State’s Legislators—Which Could Resonate Beyond
My home state of Utah is one of the reddest on the electoral map. It also conducts its elections primarily by mail. That combination makes us both an outlier — and an easy target.
As a commissioner in the state’s second-largest county, and as a former county clerk who administered elections and oversaw our elections department, I understand the scrutiny. I’ve lived it. And as a Republican — and an engineer by training — I don’t believe any government process should be shielded from inspection.
Through relationships with election officials and policymakers across the country, I’ve learned this isn’t unique to Utah. There are many conservatives who believe taxpayer-funded systems should be put under bright lights. But we should also have the integrity to acknowledge when those reviews uncover real problems — and when they do not.
If that resonates with you, I invite you to read my open letter to members of the Utah Legislature, which I sent on Friday. Most states don’t run elections the way Utah does. But conservatives across the country may recognize the broader call: Examine honestly, speak truthfully, and defend what works.
***
Dear Members of the Utah State Legislature,
I write with respect for your role and genuine concern about the direction of our election discourse. Utah has long been a model for secure, well-administered elections — not because the system is flawless, but because clerks and local officials work relentlessly to ensure every valid vote is counted and every voice respected.
Today we face a paradox: Voters express broad confidence in our system, while legislative messaging often signals doubt. Intended or not, that contradiction erodes earned trust and weakens the very institutional stability we claim to defend.
Utah voters continue to express strong confidence in vote-by-mail. In fact, net voter confidence in vote-by-mail increased from +51 in 2024 to +60 in 2025, driven by a 7-point drop in voters who said they were “not too confident” in the system.
While overall election confidence dipped slightly year over year, confidence in vote-by-mail moved in the opposite direction—demonstrating that Utahns remain comfortable with and trusting of the state’s mail-in voting framework when it remains accessible and secure.
Confidence is not uniform — and it should not be taken for granted — but the evidence clearly shows that Utahns trust their system more than many assume. For the most part, it’s deserved. A legislative audit of Utah’s election processes found no significant fraud, though it correctly called for improvements in areas like voter roll maintenance and audit compliance. Additionally, a thorough statewide review of more than two million voter registrations identified just one apparent noncitizen on the rolls — and that individual did not vote. These facts are not excuses for complacency. Instead, they’re evidence that systemic fraud simply doesn’t exist. Or, in other words, that fraud isn’t occurring on anywhere remotely near a scale that justifies broad, sweeping assertions of failed elections.
If We Believe in Election Integrity, We Must Ask Hard Questions.
Leadership begins with clarity, not with ambiguity.
So, let me ask you directly and respectfully:
Conservatives understand that claims without evidence damage institutions without improving them — and if the goal is to increase election confidence, this approach is counterproductive. Let’s be honest, then, about the effects of our policy choices:
H.B. 479, which is currently under debate, carries an estimated fiscal note of $8 million. Counties do not have unlimited funding tools to absorb costs like that — our primary budgetary mechanism is property tax revenue. That means new mandates ultimately translate into increased pressure on local taxpayers. At the same time, Utah County is already absorbing approximately $2 million in additional costs due to legislation authorizing a fourth district court judge and the associated ancillary expenses. Layering another significant unfunded obligation on top of that is not insignificant — it has real, measurable impact at the local level.
Elections are complex and imperfect by nature — but imperfection is not illegitimacy. Utah’s system includes layered safeguards: canvass boards, audits, risk-limiting procedures, and certified training for election officials. That demands evidence-based improvements, not reaction-based overhauls.
Utah has proven we can innovate responsibly. Vote-by-mail has increased participation without sacrificing ballot integrity. Documented fraud is virtually nonexistent and, when it occurs, is isolated and inconsequential to outcomes. Fraud is never acceptable — but isolated incidents are not justification for dismantling a system that works for the vast majority of voters.
Legislators, continuous improvement is appropriate. But amplifying narratives that serve a narrow political niche over evidence that serves the entire state is destructive. I still believe you can lead with operational reality, not rhetoric — with facts, not fear. Election administrators welcome smart reforms that strengthen the system and improve voter experience. But sound policy requires clarity, not noise.
Respectfully,
Amelia Powers Gardner
Commissioner, Utah County
Amelia Powers Gardner is a Utah County, Utah, Commissioner. She previously was the county’s clerk/auditor.