A Sept. 15 audit from Utah’s Legislative Auditor General’s Office found recurring election compliance issues in Wasatch County. The audit found that the issues were persistent, though relatively minor.  The report conducted an in-depth review of Utah County, Wasatch County and San Juan Coun ty in the weeks leading up to the 2026 primary election, on election day and the days following. All three counties have been audited in years prior and “repeated deficiencies” were found in the latest report.  “The repeated nature of these errors is concerning as it shows that clerks misunderstood corrective actions or did not fully address them,” the report states.  The audit shows election officials, such as Wasatch County Clerk-Auditor Joey Granger, made systemwide improvements, but recurring election compliance issues persist.  Wasatch County completed one of two post-election audit recommendations, one of three in chain of custody recommendations and zero reconciliation recommendations. Those were all recommendations from a 2024 audit.  The 2026 audit reviews what recommendations were adopted and what changes were made, along with evaluating election processes.  “Combined with errors we observed in meeting new election requirements, this shows that election officials can further improve their processes to mitigate risks to election integrity,” the report states.  The state audit recommended adjustments to Wasatch County election operations. Completing training, attesting to audit results and ensuring a single auditor does not perform the entirety of the audit are among those recommendations.  “Doing so will help post-election audits meet expectations for independence, and address training for those conducting the audits,” the report states.  Specifically, Wasatch County did not meet all new election audit requirements, including video monitoring updates, applying ballot pick-up security seals, compliance with reconciliation requirements and following candidate nomination petition processing.  The audit states that noncompliance with election law increases the risk of inaccurate or inappropriate election outcomes.  “While election processes are generally sound in Wasatch County, the clerk can do more to monitor and implement changing election requirements given an unawareness or misunderstanding of some changes,” the report states.  Granger declined to comment. Wasatch County clerk-auditor candidate and current Park City Recorder Michelle Kellogg, however, offered her view of the audit.  Kellogg said she reviewed the Sept. 15 audit when it was released. Though there were noncompliance issues, Kellogg said election integrity is “not something to worry about.” “There are things in the audits; they can be tightened up, but I do not feel like any of the elections have been compromised,” Kellogg said.  Granger sought reelection at the start of the year, but she did not win the Wasatch County Republican Party’s nomination at the nominating convention in April. Kellogg received 59% of the vote with 148 ballots in her favor.  Kellogg won the primary election in June. With no Democratic challenger and the write-in candidate deadline passed, Kellogg is almost assured to take the position and start the role in January.  In her first months in office, Kellogg plans to “thoroughly review” all state election requirements and ensure the county office complies with them.  “I know that the clerk-auditor has made some improvements over the years, but there’s still more to do,” Kellogg said. “I’ll be making a strong effort to communicate those improvements to the voters so that they’ll feel more confident in the election process.” There will be about six months to “get everything organized” before the 2027 election processes begin, Kellogg said.  Lt. Gov. Diedre Henderson said the current audit “strikes at the heart of the balance between state oversight of elections and the actions of independently elected county officials.” In her response to the audit, Granger concurred with nearly all audit requirements and recommendations. She objected to the finding that she did not reconcile all vote histories and to the recommendation that the clerk should adjust their election processes to mitigate the chances that someone can vote twice.  Kellogg said that she understands election laws are continually changing.  “I will stay on top of those changes,” Kellogg said.  The general election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 3 in Wasatch County. The post Wasatch clerk-auditor-elect promises election security following state audit appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less