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A legislative audit found errors in the verification of signatures submitted by Gov. Spencer Cox, Rep. John Curtis and attorney general candidate Derek Brown.

According to the audit, a small percentage of signatures were rejected that should have been accepted, and others were accepted that should have been rejected. State lawmakers released a statement saying these would not have affected the primary election’s outcome for any of the candidates.

Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson released a statement in response to the audit, saying they “respect the efforts of legislative auditors and their recognition that the Cox campaign fully complied with the law.”

A legislative subcommittee reviewed the findings Tuesday and released recommendations for changes to state law in response to the audit.

Read more about the audit and how it could change state law.

Utah has a new initiative to tackle the fentanyl crisis

Gov. Spencer Cox announced Tuesday that Utah is forming a new task force to combat the fentanyl epidemic.

Fentanyl-involved overdose deaths have risen 437% in Utah since 2019, and the number of pills seized and positive crime lab tests of fentanyl have also increased steadily.

“The number of overdose deaths in 2023 reached the highest number on record in Utah at 606 deaths. Two-hundred-ninety of overdose deaths in 2023 were fentanyl related,” said Cox.

“Our goal with this task force is to reduce demand for prevention and treatment, reduce root causes of fentanyl abuse and disrupt fentanyl trafficking networks,” Cox said. The Utah Public Safety Commissioner Jess Anderson was asked to lead the task force, which include local, state and federal agencies as well as elected officials.

Read more about the fentanyl crisis in Utah and how state officials plan to address it.

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