Utah lieutenant governor announces audit of citizenship on voter rolls

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said Thursday her office would audit the citizenship of people on the state's voter rolls, a day after top President Donald Trump ally Elon Musk responded to her stance on a federal bill that would require proof of citizenship to vote.

"My office is conducting a full citizenship audit of Utah's voter rolls, similar to those recently conducted by other states," Henderson, a Republican, said on X. "The audit will give us insight into the scope of any current problems and vulnerabilities and help us identify what changes may be needed to ensure that only eligible citizens are voting. More details will be forthcoming."

The state Constitution clearly states that "no person shall be deemed a qualified voter of this state unless such person be a citizen of the United States." While only citizens can vote in federal elections, Utah Sen. Mike Lee is the sponsor of a federal bill that would require proof of citizenship in order to vote.

Some advocates have worried that Lee's Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE Act, could make it harder for citizens to vote, and Henderson told KSL earlier this week that she had reservations about the proposal.

"For example, rather than threaten election officials with jail time for something they have no control over, let's give them better access to the tools they need to properly identify citizenship," she told KSL in a statement.

My office is conducting a full citizenship audit of Utah's voter rolls, similar to those recently conducted by other states. The audit will give us insight into the scope of any current problems and vulnerabilities and help us identify what changes may be needed to ensure that…

— Lt. Gov. Deidre M. Henderson (@LGHendersonUtah) April 17, 2025

Lee and other supporters of the bill argue it's a critical way to stop noncitizens from voting in U.S. elections and have urged the GOP-controlled Congress to pass it.

"It's a simple bill. It requires proof of citizenship to register to vote," Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said in a post last month. "It also requires states to clean their voter rolls of noncitizens. This is critical legislation."

The SAVE Act was passed by the House of Representatives last week.

Henderson called the bill "problematic and impractical on almost all points except its talking points." On Wednesday, Musk — the world's richest man and head of Trump's Department of Government Efficiency — responded to a KSL.com post on X about Henderson's comments, saying: "Those who oppose proof of citizenship for voting are traitors to America." Musk's post has been viewed more than 100,000 times.

Those who oppose proof of citizenship for voting are traitors to America

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 16, 2025

A spokesman for Henderson did not respond to a request for comment asking what prompted the announcement of the audit of citizenship on voter rolls.

Henderson did not provide more information about the audit or say when the results might be released.

Gov. Spencer Cox was asked about the SAVE Act during his monthly news conference Thursday and said he thinks it's "very important."

"As a governor, I'm very supportive of Sen. Lee and the concepts behind the SAVE Act — I think it's critical," he said. "No one should want those who are here illegally voting in our elections. I think the question is: How do you do that in a way that makes it so people who should be able to vote legally can vote? And so, some of those details still need to be worked out, and will be worked out as it moves through Congress, and I think we'll get in a great place where we can do both of those things."

Asked if he thinks the bill could disenfranchise women whose legal last name doesn't match their birth certificate, Cox said: "I don't think it does that."

"I think those allegations have been pretty well debunked, that it does not do that," he said.

Related topics