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Clerk reports SAVE-system checks found possible noncitizen ballots; attorneys cite statute‑of‑limitations limits
Summary
The County Clerk said she enrolled in the SAVE program, manually submitted 460 records, and found anomalies including voters who appear to have cast ballots while not citizens; the county attorney told the clerk prosecution is unlikely in older cases because of statutes of limitations.
The County Clerk described her office’s early use of the federal SAVE (Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements) process after passage of HB209, which the clerk said authorizes county use of the system to check citizenship status for voter registrations.
The clerk said she was among the first Utah election entities enrolled in SAVE, manually copied and submitted 460 voter records for verification, and found anomalies: she reported four registrants who had voted as noncitizens (two of whom later naturalized) and said her records show six votes cast by noncitizens. The clerk said county attorneys reviewed the cases and concluded prosecution was unlikely because alleged conduct dated back beyond prosecutable windows.
She noted that SAVE enrollment and data access have procedural constraints: while HB209 authorizes verification, the clerk said the Lieutenant Governor’s office controls transfer of full data files and that some data will not be provided to counties until just before the next election cycle. The clerk urged careful, documented use of SAVE and said she will continue to coordinate with the Lieutenant Governor’s office and county counsel.
The clerk’s comments are a county official’s account of early verification work; the briefing did not include independent statements from the Lieutenant Governor’s office or the county attorney about specific files or prosecutorial decisions.
