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Elections office says it can implement OLAG recommendations without extra funds but cites staffing and tech strains
Summary
An elections office representative told a legislative subcommittee most Office of the Legislative Auditor General (OLAG) recommendations can be implemented within current resources but staff shortages and denied technology funding continue to strain work during election deadlines.
An elections office representative told a Utah Legislature appropriations subcommittee that the office intends to implement most recommendations from two recent audits by the Office of the Legislative Auditor General (OLAG) without additional appropriations, but said staffing and technology limitations have created workload challenges.
The office disagreed in part with the narrative of one audit on voter‑list maintenance while saying it has strengthened procedures and expects to fill an open data analyst position "within the next couple of weeks," which the office said would aid voter‑list maintenance work. The representative said the audit responses indicate the office can address most findings without additional budgetary requests unless the Legislature enacts new statutory requirements that create new costs.
On signature verification and other audit topics, the office said some changes can be handled through administrative rule and procedures rather than new appropriations. "So the plan that we have based off of the audit, we could implement that without additional budget requirements," the elections office representative said.
Committee members asked whether the office has adequate staffing to process candidate financial reports and complaints. The elections representative said the office has been denied funding previously for an improved financial reporting system; officials requested the appropriation in two consecutive sessions and were denied both times, and the office still lacks some desired search functionality. Representative Paul A. Cutler commented that he has run an RFA and tried to improve disclosures and the web‑based system and agreed the office would benefit from improved technology if funds are available.
The elections office also said investigations and complaint work are time consuming and that audits this past year consumed more than half of a full‑time equivalent (FTE) of staff time. The representative described extensive staff effort around deadlines, including outreach to candidates, and said further audit or statutory requirements that add new audits or investigations could require additional appropriations.
The committee ran out of time for further questions. GOPB and the elections office agreed to supply follow‑up materials; committee members said they may begin the next meeting with outstanding questions.
