Key Points
- Since each and every registered voter in Utah has to give their voter registration information, including full name, address, year of birth, phone number, party affiliation, voting history, voter status, etc. to the Republican Party, why shouldn’t they vote in the Republican primary election—even if that means temporarily changing their party affiliation?
- There are unconfirmed reports of ballots being sent to 16 year olds, Unaffiliated voters receiving Republican ballots, some Republican voters receiving multiple Republican ballots and of deceased voters receiving ballots.
- Republican State Senators are dumping large sums into Lincoln Fillmore’s and other Republican Senators’ campaigns in order to defend them against primary challengers. They are sending a clear message that newcomers who may side with the citizens are not welcome in the Republican controlled state senate.
Why shouldn’t everyone register as Republicans?
During the 2020 session of the legislature the Chair of the Utah Republican Party, Derek Brown, spent weeks lobbying legislators to pass a bill that forces all voters to give their voter registration information to the Republican Party regardless of whether they are a member of the Republican Party or not.
The legislature ultimately gave Brown what he wanted when it passed SB83. So, now the Republican Party, its candidates and thousands of campaign consultants, pollsters, campaign workers, volunteers and certain third parties have access to virtually every Utah voter’s information whether they are registered as Republican or not.
This means that the Republican Party has the information of every Unaffiliated voter.
It also has the information of every Democratic Party member along with the information of every registered Libertarian, Utah Independent American, United Utah, Green, and Constitution Party member.
So, if each and every registered voter in Utah has to give their voter registration information, including full name, address, year of birth, phone number, party affiliation, voting history, voter status, etc., to the Republican Party, why shouldn’t they vote in that Party’s primary election—even if that means temporarily changing their party affiliation?
Ballot Foul-Ups
There are unconfirmed reports of ballots being mailed to 16 year olds. Rumors are that a local TV station may be looking into the possibility that up to 150 ballots may have been sent to 16 year olds.
In addition, certain Unaffiliated voters may have received Republican ballots without ever changing their party registration.
Some Republican voters say that they have received multiple Republican ballots.
Voters are reporting that long-deceased family members continue to receive ballots despite multiple requests to clerks to stop sending them ballots.
In Duchesne County when people opened their vote-by-mail ballots they found that registered Republicans had received Democratic ballots, and vice versa.
Utah State Senators Come to the Aid of Lincoln Fillmore—newcomers not welcome
Republican State Senators are dumping money into their colleagues’ campaigns to help them defeat their primary opponents.
For example, they are supporting Lincoln Fillmore’s campaign in order to defend him after he voted multiple times to re-impose the sales tax on food, impose a new sales tax on gasoline and require small businesses without powerful lobbyists to defend them to collect sales taxes on the services they provide.
Of course, these senators are not using their own money. They are taking money given them by big donors for their own campaigns and shifting it to their colleagues’ campaigns.
They are sending a clear message that the Utah State Senate is a closed club and new Republican members are not welcome—especially new members who may stand up for the average Utahn rather than for Utah’s elite who can afford large campaign contributions and powerful, high paid lobbyists to get what they want.
Here is a list of senators who contributed to Fillmore’s campaign.
4/15/2020 Friends of Ann Millner 1,000.00
4/15/2020 Evan J Vickers Campaign Fund $1,000.00
5/2/2020 Friends of Ann Millner $1,000.00
5/7/2020 J Stuart Adams $2,000.00
5/7/2020 Utah Republican Senate Campaign Committee $5,000.00
5/18/2020 Jerry Stevenson $1,000.00
5/18/2020 Cullimore for Senate $1,000.00
5/18/2020 David G Buxton for Senate $1,000.00
5/18/2020 Todd Weiler Campaign $1,000.00
6/2/2020 Committee to Elect Ronald Winterton $500.00
6/9/2020 Keith Grover Campaign $750.00
6/9/2020 Deidre M. Henderson for Utah State Senate $1,000.00
6/9/2020 Don L Ipson Campaign $500.00
6/9/2020 Committee to Elect Jake Anderegg $500.00
Other incumbent Senators are being financially supported by their colleagues. These include Lyle Hillyard who sponsored the ill-fated tax reform bill, Curt Bramble, and Wayne Harper.
