In the wake of a recent state probe of election irregularities here, County Clerk/Auditor David Benson has scheduled a public meeting/press conference to explain his actions and responses to state criticism. That event will take place at 5 p.m. on Friday, Mar. 1 in the Council Chambers of the Cache County Historic Courthouse at 199 North Main St. in downtown Logan.
CACHE COUNTY – County Clerk/Auditor David Benson has scheduled a public meeting/press conference to explain his actions in response to a recent state investigation of election irregularities here in Cache County.
That event will take place at 5 p.m. on Friday, Mar. 1 in the Council Chambers of the Cache County Historic Courthouse at 199 North Main St. in downtown Logan.
Benson has said that he plans to make a brief presentation during that gathering, then respond to questions from members of the public and the media.
“I recommend visiting the Clerk/Auditor News website to review recent news articles and a related video recording,” Benson suggests, “that will answer many questions in advance of the conference.”
That website can be found by going online to https://www.cachecounty.org/deptnews.html?d=2004
The state’s three-month investigation of local election irregularities has been underway since shortly after the statewide municipal election was held on Nov. 21, 2023.
In early December, prior to an unrelated recount of ballots in the cities of Logan and Hyrum, officials from Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson’s office notified Cache County of their concerns about the county officials handling of election processes.
In the subsequent investigation, state officials not only found evidence that a county employee falsified a document verifying the function of the county’s ballot tabulating machines prior to the election, but also reported 31 separate violations of statutory obligations and failures to adhere to practices that guard against fraud and election manipulation.
State investigators found, however, no evidence of fraud or anything to indicate that the original election results or subsequent recounts were improperly certified.
As a result of the alleged falsification of the official election document, former county election coordinator Dustin Hansen was charged with one count of willful neglect of duty and corrupt conduct by a poll worker, a third-degree felony.
The public meeting/press conference on Mar. 1 is scheduled to last one hour.