Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson: signature 'cures' and software bugs risk ballot validity; backs verification and transparency
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Summary
In a Utah County Republican Party podcast interview, incumbent County Clerk Aaron Davidson said mail‑out ballots have increased signature verification problems—disproportionately affecting young voters—urged stronger citizenship checks, defended publishing anonymized cast vote records, and warned of ranked‑choice software bugs that changed local outcomes.
Aaron Davidson, the incumbent Utah County clerk and a candidate for re‑election, told a Utah County Republican Party podcast that recent changes to mail‑out voting and ballot‑processing software have increased the risk of ballots being excluded and that county clerks need better tools and transparency to secure results.
Davidson said signature verification and the cure process present a major challenge for first‑time and younger voters. "We're getting those come through as the signature on people's ballots, and we have to verify those signatures," he said, adding that "over 50% of the cure letters are to these 18 to 25 year olds, and more than half of them never respond." He told the host the statewide total of ballots that did not cure in the presidential election was about 20,606, roughly 1% of ballots received.
The clerk framed his concern as both a security and access issue: mail‑out ballots are easy to return but the return path (through the U.S. Postal Service or drop boxes) reduces chain‑of‑custody visibility, while signature‑based verification can leave valid votes uncounted. "If you can vote in person, 100% of those ballots get counted," he said.
Davidson said he supports legislation referred to in the interview as the "Save" measure and the use of the SAVE program (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) to verify eligibility when allowed. "I think it's great. I think we need it," he said, referring to a bill and the verification tools, and he described finding isolated cases in which non‑citizens had voted multiple times—one person he said had voted three times—incidents that motivated his position.
On voter‑list management, Davidson criticized ERIC (the Electronic Registration Information Center) as a nongovernmental organization that states cannot audit easily. He said Utah should consider withdrawing unless a robust federal oversight mechanism provides appropriate auditing and data access.
The clerk also described his effort to increase election transparency by publishing anonymized cast vote records. He said he worked with Rep. Norm Thurston on HB 263 and its follow‑up (cited in the interview as HB 1003) to allow counties to post cast vote records; the law uses permissive language ("may" rather than "shall"), and Davidson noted that only four counties posted records in the most recent general election, including Utah County. "Anyone can go in and verify the results," he said, arguing that access to cast vote records enables public auditing while preserving ballot secrecy.
Davidson raised problems he faced running a ranked‑choice pilot in Lehi: voter confusion with lengthy ballots, falling participation, and a known software defect (described as a "same name permissive" bug) in the RCtab tabulation package that could alter outcomes. He said cities declined to indemnify counties for potential software errors, so several localities opted not to use ranked‑choice tabulation.
He recounted petition‑verification work for a repeal drive (referenced in the interview as the Prop 4 repeal) in which Utah County identified alleged forgeries across packets and referred signature gatherers to the county attorney. He argued that verification should be handled by the county that has jurisdiction over the signatures collected.
On ethics and accountability, Davidson said clerks should not accept donations or endorsements from people who hold or will seek office to avoid conflicts; he said his largest donor is himself and noted a recent $150 contribution that will appear on disclosure filings. He also confirmed the county clerk role is full time, said he retains only a small retainer for minimal outside technical work, and described budget savings in his office including a $110,000 reduction tied to postage and drop‑box practices.
Davidson closed with campaign contact information (davidsonclerk.com; Venmo and email handles he provided) and reiterated his emphasis on data release and public auditing as his primary accountability to voters.
The episode ended with a short post‑interview segment in which Davidson consented to allow review of his credit score and said he has not filed personal or business bankruptcy.
