SALT LAKE CITY — A bill introduced in the Utah State Legislature seeks to strip the Lt. Governor of oversight of the state's election system, creating an independent state elections director.
House Bill 490, sponsored by Rep. Ryan Wilcox, R-Ogden, would create a separate state elections office with a director hired by the Governor, Lt. Governor, Senate President, House Speaker, Auditor, Treasurer and Attorney General.
Meeting with reporters on Wednesday, Rep. Wilcox insisted his bill was not being run for nefarious reasons. He dismissed claims of election fraud in Utah.
"What it does not do it does not support a premise that there is some kind of fraudulent activity happening in our elections," he said of his legislation.
But Rep. Wilcox said he was responding to consistent claims of election improprieties and pointed to anger in other states.
"This is largely removing that perception from the argument," he said.
He also insisted he was not personally targeting Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson, who has emerged as a national figure for her efforts to inspire confidence in elections. FOX 13 News recently profiled her work in speaking out against election misinformation and disinformation, as well as her public urging of people to visit their county clerks to learn how votes are actually counted.
"Of course not. It’s an absurd premise, number one," Rep. Wilcox told a reporter who asked if the Lt. Gov. Henderson was a target of his bill. "But I understand why the question is asked because it is a change from current scenario."
Other states have different election systems including secretaries of state and independent election boards. In the 1970s, Utah did away with the Secretary of State position and put the duties under the Lt. Governor. In the 2020 election, then-Lt. Governor Spencer Cox appointed someone else to oversee the elections as he was campaigning for the office of governor with then-Sen. Henderson.
But midway through his news conference, Rep. Wilcox surprised reporters by announcing he would not allow his own bill to go forward in the Utah State Legislature. Instead, he would have the issue studied in the interim.
Asked by FOX 13 News why he would file a bill in the Utah State Legislature only to kill it less than 24 hours later, Rep. Wilcox said: "Things change rather quickly on the Hill. I do not intend to actually hold a hearing on the bill. So we’re going to be working on this in the interim."
Rep. Wilcox believed there was an appetite to pass his bill. However, he likely faced strong opposition in the legislature and in the executive branch. House Democrats on Wednesday rallied around the Republican Lt. Governor.
"I am intrigued to understand why he feels like this is an improvement on our current system," said House Minority Whip Jennifer Dailey-Provost, D-Salt Lake City, who serves on the House Government Operations Committee and would have heard the bill.
She and Rep. Doug Owens, D-Millcreek, praised Lt. Gov. Henderson for her efforts at promoting transparency around elections. Rep. Owens said he was glad to defend the Lt. Governor.
"I think the Lt. Governor’s perfectly capable and has shown herself to be perfectly capable," he told reporters.
In a statement to FOX 13 News late Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Henderson appeared to try to rise above the fray.
"As a Utahn and former legislator, I have a deep love for the legislative process and respect for the men and women who serve in these roles. Rep. Wilcox is a friend with a sincere heart who has done a lot of good for our state. I look forward to working on this and many other issues with him in the future," she said.
