Disqualified West Hills voters sue Summit County clerk a day before incorporation vote

Five voters filed a lawsuit Friday in 3rd District Court against Summit County Clerk Malena Stevens over her decision that they cannot vote on the West Hills incorporation, the question of whether the area becomes a town. The vote is Tuesday, Nov. 3. ^[1]

The challenges came from Craig Savage, a Wasatch County resident who opposes the incorporation. He gave the Clerk's Office documents that he said showed 23 registered voters did not live inside the proposed town's boundaries. On Oct. 26, Stevens notified 11 of the 18 voters named in his first complaint that they could no longer take part in the election. ^[1]

The lawsuit says the notices were one paragraph long and did not list facts, evidence, findings or how to appeal. It also says state law required the clerk to rule before early voting began on Oct. 20, and that the voters were told six days after that. ^[1]

The petition argues that a sworn voter registration is presumed correct under state law and that Savage's evidence, which it describes as observations of homes that looked empty, vehicle registrations at other addresses, social media posts and inferences about where people work and get mail, does not meet the clear and convincing standard needed to overturn it. Two of the plaintiffs are a couple who moved to Montana in August for law school and say their home inside the boundary is still their main residence. Utah allows absentee voting for students. ^[1]

The filing also says the clerk treated a married couple differently, disqualifying the husband but not the wife even though both were named in the same affidavit at the same address. According to the lawsuit, 18 of the roughly 92 registered voters inside the proposed boundary were challenged, and at least 11 were disqualified. ^[1]

The voters ask Judge Richard Mrazik to reverse the clerk's findings, order the office to produce the full record it relied on and hold a hearing before Election Day. No hearing was on the court docket as of Monday afternoon, and Summit County and the Clerk's Office did not respond to The Park Record's request for comment. ^[1]