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Local conservatives allege irregularities in signature-gathering and primary returns
Summary
At a Davis County Conservatives forum, speakers including former San Juan County commissioner and gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman and independent researcher Michael Claire described unresolved questions about petition signatures and statistical anomalies in Utah's GOP primary returns and said multiple audits and lawsuits are under way.
At a Davis County Conservatives community forum, former San Juan County commissioner and 2024 gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman said he and others have uncovered gaps and inconsistencies in signature packets and primary-election returns and urged continued legal and public-records scrutiny.
Speakers said independent and legislative audits, public-records requests and pending court filings have not resolved basic questions about who collected and retained signature packets and whether vote totals in the Republican primary match expected statistical patterns.
Why it matters: The speakers framed the issue as central to election integrity in Utah's party nominating process. They said missing or unverifiable signature packets and unexplained vote tallies could affect which candidates appear on ballots in future elections and could undermine public confidence in party-run nominating procedures.
Lyman described three separate audits' findings about "spare" signature packets that were reported to state election officials. He told the audience: "You start off with Natalie Clausen getting an email ... saying there's 592 spare signatures. Then we find out ... there's only 391 that could be verified. And then the next month ... the legislative auditor tells us, well, there's actually 492." He added, "They lied," describing agency responses as circular and incomplete.
Independent researcher Michael Claire (identified at the forum as working through public-records requests) said he had obtained packet cover sheets and other materials he said deepen the discrepancy. Claire summarized the records he had obtained and told the audience that the available documentation "still don't add up." He also said he was pursuing further GRAMA/public-records requests and that some related litigation is pending.
Lyman and others also referenced statistical analysis of the GOP primary night returns. Lyman said, "I think there's 40,000 votes that were that were fraudulently put into the system," and later cited an estimate from analysts he consulted of roughly 46,000 anomalous votes in particular counties. He described minute-by-minute vote-share graphs he and statisticians examined and said they showed patterns he called unlikely without irregular inputs.
Speakers repeatedly distinguished between allegations and proven facts. Michael Claire told the forum he was "staying disciplined and just staying focused on signature verification," and said his publicly posted videos and GRAMA requests seek to make the records and audit work transparent.
What is happening now: Forum speakers said several legal actions are active or pending: a quo warranto-style litigation tied to the "Brunson" case was mentioned as being before the Utah Supreme Court, and other district-court cases and records requests remain unresolved. Speakers urged attendees to support ongoing legal work and public-records efforts; they also cited the state auditor and legislative auditors as having produced reports they interpret as incomplete.
What the forum did not establish: Forum remarks contained assertions and interpretations by participants and researchers; the forum did not present court rulings that validate the allegations. Several officials named in discussion, including county clerks and election officials, were described as refusing or not being able to provide access to some signature packets; forum speakers said that, in their view, that refusal is part of what needs scrutiny.
Next steps noted at the forum: speakers urged sustained public-records requests, legislative audit follow-ups and litigation. Attendees were directed to several ongoing projects and websites referenced during the event and asked to contact elected delegates or to attend county-level party meetings to press for transparency.
Ending: Organizers and speakers framed ongoing records requests and litigation as the immediate avenue for testing the claims raised at the forum and said they expected more documents and possible court rulings in the coming weeks.
