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Davis County clerk explains petition-signature records after state audit; records now with lieutenant governor
Summary
County Clerk Brian McKenzie outlined why Davis County does not maintain records of signatures validated during a state audit and described the county's responses to public records requests and mediation offers.
Davis County Clerk Brian McKenzie explained to commissioners on Feb. 11 how a recent records request relating to petition signatures intersects with a state audit and the custody of records.
McKenzie described a records request his office received on Oct. 23, 2024, asking for lists of signatures referenced in an audit by State Auditor John Dougall dated Sept. 3, 2024. McKenzie said the county initially processed and recorded verification results for signature packets during the original petition review in June 2024, but that the state auditor’s later review examined “uncounted signatures submitted” during the audit process.
“My staff conducted this review utilizing the same criteria used during the initial packet review process,” McKenzie said. He explained that because the auditor’s review was part of the state audit — and not part of the original petition verification — recording those audit-stage findings in the county’s records would have been “inappropriate.” McKenzie said the petition packets were subsequently delivered to the custody of the lieutenant governor’s office, which he identified as the custodian for those records.
When the requester filed a duplicate request on Jan. 6, 2025, McKenzie said the county responded that it did not maintain the requested audit records and directed the requester to the lieutenant governor’s office. He said the requester sought mediation with the State Records Committee but declined Davis County’s offer of mediation. McKenzie said the requester has the right to appeal to the State Records Committee.
McKenzie also clarified a terminology point raised by another commenter about date stamps and submission receipts: he said petitions themselves were date-stamped as a routine matter, but submission forms received at the counter are signed and dated by a deputy and were not always stamped. That difference, he said, explained the apparent inconsistency cited by the public commenter.
Why this matters: The clerk’s explanation defines where authoritative records from the petition review process now reside and outlines the county’s procedures for responding to records requests. The county’s response included an offer of mediation that the requester declined; the State Records Committee will consider any appeal filed by the requester.
