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SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed separate requests filed by two candidates who recently lost their races — state Rep. Phil Lyman and Colby Jenkins.
After it heard arguments, the Supreme Court denied Jenkins' request to count late ballots based on practices of the U.S. Postal Service.
The justices also denied Lyman's request to halt the printing of ballots for the November general election pending the outcome of an earlier case in which he asked the justices to kick Gov. Spencer Cox out of office and make Lyman the Republican nominee for governor.
Both Lyman and Jenkins cast doubt on Utah's vote-by-mail system following the rulings.
Lyman case
Lyman, R-Blanding, took his case to the courts after he lost the June 25 GOP primary to Cox by more than 37,000 votes.
Lyman had filed a request for a preliminary injunction in that same case with the Supreme Court on Monday, asking the five justices to halt the printing of ballots for the November election until the court issues a ruling, force Cox to veto any election-related bills passed by the Legislature while his case plays out, and prevent the Utah Republican Party from endorsing Cox for governor in November.
His court filing, obtained Monday by KSL.com, also claims he was "strong-armed" into competing in the primary election and should have been allowed to advance to the general election because he won 67.5% of the Republican delegate vote during the statewide nominating convention in April.
The Utah Supreme Court's order on Tuesday states that "if a party seeks to be a qualified political party under Utah law — as the Utah Republican Party has — the party must comply with state law, including the requirement that members be allowed to seek the party's nomination for elective office through signature gathering and/or the convention process."
The justices said they believe party bylaws do not trump state law.
Lyman filed a lawsuit in Utah's 3rd District Court just a week after the election asking a judge to force election officials to turn over a list of names of people who signed ballot access petitions for Cox.
In a petition to the Utah Supreme Court on Aug. 2, he claimed Cox and Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson committed "malfeasance" in allowing Cox on the primary ballot, and he asked that the pair be thrown out of office, that the primary election results be invalidated and that he be named the Republican gubernatorial nominee on the general election ballot.
He further asked the court for a directive removing Cox and Henderson from office based on a statute that will remove a defendant from office if they are found guilty of usurping or unlawfully holding onto an office.
The Utah Supreme Court said Lyman was not entitled to this relief, or the other relief he requested.
The Lyman campaign told KSL on Tuesday it plans to appeal the state Supreme Court's decision.
Henderson called the lawsuit "frivolous."
"For all his talk of election integrity, Phil Lyman is the only candidate in the state who has actively tried to steal an election by demanding that the Supreme Court crown him the victor of a race he soundly lost," she said in a statement.
She said Utahns "should be appalled" by his behavior, and elections are won at the ballot box, not in courts.
Lyman said Sunday he would run for governor as a write-in candidate. Utah has a law that prevents candidates who have filed a declaration of candidacy from running as an unaffiliated candidate in the same year.
Lyman retweeted multiple X posts from Utahns with the hashtag #WriteInPhilLyman and said he was "deeply touched" by the support.
"It has become obvious to me that many true conservative Utahns want an option for governor that is not a Democrat. I'm providing that option in November," he said.
He also criticized Utah's mail-in ballot system in a post made shortly after the ruling was released, saying election officials created a "crisis of confidence" in elections.
Lyman said Cox "ushered universal vote by mail into our state" and that Utah is the only Republican state with the system. He said a "leftist NGO," or nongovernmental organization, cleans Utah's voter rolls.
"Universal (vote by mail) significantly weakens our election process and verification capabilities," he said.
Jenkins case
In the order filed on Tuesday, the court said Jenkins failed to meet the judicial burden required for his claims of a constitutional violation.
Following a recount, Jenkins lost the Republican primary election for the U.S. House of Representatives seat for Utah's 2nd Congressional District to Celeste Maloy by 176 votes.
Jenkins filed the petition for relief on July 31, against Henderson and multiple counties. He argued some of the ballots that were not counted were mailed before Election Day but did not get postmarked by the deadline because the mail was sent to Las Vegas to be processed.
However, the court determined that "his petition falls well short of establishing that he is entitled to the relief he seeks."
The opinion says Jenkins does not identify any instances in which an election official did not comply with policy but instead is seeking differential treatment based on where mail is processed. It also said his petition argues that relying on the Postal Service interferes with the right to vote.
In her response, Henderson questioned Jenkins' standing to file the lawsuit on behalf of voters whose ballots weren't counted. The judges said he did not attempt to meet the burden for standing, but that did not matter for their decision because his complaint failed in other ways.
Jenkins claimed about 1,171 ballots were rejected based on a late postmark, but the order says many of those were not processed in Las Vegas, and of those that were, no one knows how many were mailed before Election Day.
However, the court said, "Regardless of the number of ballots at issue, Mr. Jenkins has not demonstrated a constitutional violation."
Henderson said the ruling affirmed "what most Utahns already know," that county clerks administer elections fairly.
"The court has made it abundantly clear that there is no legal basis to challenge the results of this election — for any race. The primary is over. It is time to move on," she said.
Henderson invited all candidates to graciously accept the results of the elections.
Jenkins called the ruling a "disappointing turn of events" in a statement on social media, where he said he had contacted Maloy to "officially congratulate her" on her win. He said the decision "denies many citizens' voices from being heard" and raises concerns about the inclusivity of elections.
"The Utah State Supreme Court's decision means hundreds of properly cast votes will go uncounted. This ruling undermines fundamental voting rights and sets a troubling precedent for future elections," he said.
He said Utahns should not outsource elections to the Postal Service and said that should change. He urged Utah's government to address this issue in the next legislative session. He said the ruling is a setback but also a "call to action" to a create a more "inclusive and just electoral system."
The National Republican Congressional Committee issued a statement on Tuesday congratulating Maloy on her victory in the primary.
"Since last November she has faithfully served Utah by working to secure the border, fighting inflation and advocating for Hill Air Force Base. Utahns have spoken — they want a strong conservative representative in D.C., and that's who Celeste has been and will continue to be as their congresswoman," the statement from spokeswoman Delanie Bomar said.
