Utah

Status of Audit Legislation: 
Utah's current audit law was adopted by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor in October 2006.
Link to Text of Legislation: 
Election Policy Adopted October 17, 2006
Notes: 

State Summary

Adopted in October of 2006, Utah's current audit law allows for all items on the ballot to be audited, but the audit is not binding on the official election results and cannot lead to a full recount. Note: The main provision governing audits in Utah is a directive issued by the Office of the Lieutenant Governor. The directive is available for download at: http://utahcountvotes.org/ltgov/ElectionXPolicy.pdf. Unless otherwise noted, all citations below are to this directive.

Sampling Method: 

Fixed percentage

 

The Lieutenant Governor selects at least 1% of voting machines used statewide to be audited. See Section 6.2.

Trigger: 

Does not have a trigger

Oversight: 
Chief State Election Official Local election officials report to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor.
Who Conducts the Audit?: 
Local election officials conduct the audit.
Location of Random Selection: 
State The Office of the Lieutenant Governor conducts the random selection of the voting machines to be audited.
Types of Voting Machines in Use: 
DREs DREs with VVPAT
Races that are Audited: 
Entire ballot All races and ballot propositions are audited, with the exception of questions on judicial retention (see Section 3.2 and 6.5.20).
Voting Units that are Audited: 
Machines One voting machine in each Utah House of Representatives district is audited.
Timeline for Audit: 

Election officials must submit serial numbers of voting machines to the Lieutenant Governor by noon on Election Day. The Lieutenant Governor must inform election officials of which machines are to be audited after the polls close on Election Day but before noon the following day. The audit is to be completed before the canvassers for the respective jurisdiction meet. See Sections 6.1, 6.3 and 6.5.

Completed Before Certification?: 

As the audit is to be completed before the local canvassing board meets, it is completed before certification. See Section 6.5.

Absentees, Provisionals and Early Voting: 
Law is unclear Machines that were used for early voting may also be included in the audit, but there is no specific provision for auditing absentee and provisional ballots.
Recounts: 
Yes
Do the results of the audit become the official tally?: 
No
Is the Audit Publicly Observable?: 
Yes
Additional Resources: 
Utah Code - Title 20A - Election Code
Utah Lieutenant Governor Office of Elections