Since the night of Utah’s June 25 primary election, Republican gubernatorial candidate Phil Lyman has called for an independent audit and has refused to concede to incumbent Gov. Spencer Cox until after his team analyzes the results.
The Associated Press called the race at 8:23 p.m. on June 25 with 64% of the votes counted. It is not uncommon for races to be called shortly after polls close as soon as it is clear it would be mathematically impossible for the trailing candidate to get enough votes to win.
Cox and his running mate Lt. Gov. Diedre Henderson beat Lyman and his running mate, Natalie Clawson, by about 9 points, 54.5% to 45.5%, according to the latest tally.
The Lyman campaign has made a long list of claims about Utah elections in the days leading up to, and following, his loss. These claims likely left voters with questions about the fairness of the elections process. To answer those questions, the Deseret News spoke to county and state election officials as well as Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz and an election law expert.
Read more for an in-depth look at Utah’s election process.