Presidential • U.S. Senate • U.S. House • Governor • Lt. Gov • Attorney General • State executive offices • State Senate • State House • State judges • Local judges • State ballot measures • School boards • Candidate ballot access

Utah held an election for Auditor on November 8, 2016.

HIGHLIGHTS

Incumbent John Dougall (R) ran for re-election to a second term.

No primary elections were held for this race; Democrat Mike Mitchell and Jared Green of the Independent American Party of Utah challenged Dougall in the general election.

No Democrat has held the office of state auditor since 1969.

Dougall won the general election on November 8, 2016.

Candidates[edit]

Mike Mitchell (D)
Accountant

John Dougall (R)
Incumbent State auditor since 2013

Jared Green (IAP)
Employee; Fedex Express, Napa Auto Parts

Results[edit]

Incumbent John Dougall defeated Mike Mitchell and Jared Green in the Utah auditor election.

Utah Auditor, 2016
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	John Dougall Incumbent	63.23%	679,655
	Democratic	Mike Mitchell	30.66%	329,621
	Independent American Party	Jared Green	6.11%	65,690
Total Votes				1,074,966
Source: Utah Lieutenant Governor's Office-Elections

Context of the 2016 election[edit]

Primary elections[edit]

A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. In Utah, parties decide who may vote in their primaries. Registered Democrats and unaffiliated voters may vote in the Democratic primary. Only registered Republicans can vote in the Republican primary.^[1]

Unlike the major parties in most states, those in Utah elect delegates who vote to nominate the party candidates at the state conventions without a primary election.^[2] In order to receive the nomination at the convention, a candidate must secure at least 60 percent of the vote. If no candidate wins at least 60 percent, a primary election is held.^[3]

Utah's primary elections took place on June 28, 2016. The Republican primary for governor was the only primary election on the ballot. No primary elections were held for state auditor, as all candidates were nominated at party conventions.

Incumbent John Dougall (R)[edit]

Dougall was first elected auditor in 2012, when he unseated incumbent Auditor Auston G. Johnson in the Republican primary by a seven point margin. He won the general election by a 35 percent margin. Prior to his election, Dougall had served in the state House since 2003; he stepped down to take the auditor post. He previously worked as an electrical engineer and businessman.

Party control in Utah[edit]

Utah state government has been under Republican trifecta control since as early as 1992. Additionally, all partisan state executive offices are also held by Republicans. The state has not seen a Democratic governor since Scott M. Matheson left office in 1985. Utah has not been represented by a Democrat in the U.S. Senate since 1977; the state's electoral college votes have gone to a Republican every presidential election since Lyndon B. Johnson (D) in 1964.^[4]

A Democrat has not held the office of auditor in Utah since Sharp M. Larsen left office in 1969. Republicans have won election to the office by margins of at least 20 percent since 2000, with Republican Auston G. Johnson running unopposed in the 2000 general election.

Campaigns[edit]

Campaign finance[edit]

John Dougall Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
Convention report	January 1, 2016 - April 13, 2016	$0	$27,359.43	$(6,493.78)	$20,865.65
Primary report	April 14, 2016 - June 6, 2016	$20,865.65	$3,290.44	$(2,060.50)	$22,095.59
			Running totals
			$30,649.87	$(8,554.28)

Mike Mitchell Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
Convention report	January 1, 2016 - April 13, 2016	$0	$725.00	$(725.00)	$0
Primary report	April 14, 2016 - June 6, 2016	$0	$1,300.00	$(19.75)	$1,280.25
			Running totals
			$2,025	$(744.75)

Jared Green Campaign Finance Reports
Report	Date Filed	Beginning Balance	Total Contributions for Reporting Period	Expenditures	Cash on Hand
Convention report	January 1, 2016 - April 13, 2016	$0	$0	$(0)	$0
Primary report	April 14, 2016 - June 6, 2016	$0	$0	$(0)	$0
			Running totals
			$0	$(0)

About the office[edit]

See also: Utah State Auditor

The Utah State Auditor is an elected position in the Utah state government. The auditor is the chief watchdog for the state, providing independent audits of Utah's state and local governments. The auditor operates independently of any executive or administrative officers of the state.

Incumbent[edit]

	Key election dates
	Filing deadline: ; March 17, 2016
	Nominating conventions: ; April 2016/May 2016
	Primary date: ; June 28, 2016
	Filing deadline (write-ins): ; September 9, 2016
	General election date: ; November 8, 2016
	Recount request deadline: ; TBD
	Inauguration: ; January 2, 2017

	← 2012
	Utah Auditor Election
	Primary Date: ; June 2016
	General Election Date: ; November 8, 2016
	November Election Winner: ; John Dougall (R)
	Incumbent Prior to Election: ; John Dougall (R)
	State Executive Elections Top Ballot; Governor and Lt. Governor; Attorney General • Treasurer; Down Ballot; Auditor

The incumbent was Republican John Dougall. He first won election on November 6, 2012, and took office on January 7, 2013.

Qualifications Article VII, Section 3 of the Utah Constitution establishes the qualifications of the office:

To be eligible for the office of Governor or Lieutenant Governor a person shall be 30 years of age or older at the time of election.
To be eligible for the office of Attorney General a person shall be 25 years of age or older, at the time of election, admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the State of Utah, and in good standing at the bar.
To be eligible for the office of State Auditor or State Treasurer a person shall be 25 years of age or older at the time of election.
No person is eligible to any of the offices provided for in Section 1 unless at the time of election that person is a qualified voter and has been a resident citizen of the state for five years next preceding the election.

Authority[edit]

The Office of State Auditor is established in Article VII, Section 1 of the state constitution.

Article VII, Section 1:

The elective constitutional officers of the Executive Department shall consist of Governor, Lieutenant Governor, State Auditor, State Treasurer, and Attorney General...

Elections[edit]

According to Article VII, Section 2 of the state constitution, Utah voters elect the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, treasurer, and auditor...

...every four years at the time and place of voting for members of the Legislature. The candidates respectively having the highest number of votes cast for the office voted for shall be elected. If two or more candidates have an equal and the highest number of votes for any one of the offices, the two houses of the Legislature at its next session shall elect by joint ballot one of those candidates for that office.

Per Article VII, Section 1, the newly elected auditor takes office beginning on the first Monday of January next after his election.

Full history[edit]

To view the electoral history dating back to 2000 for the office of Utah State Auditor, click [show] to expand the section.

2012

See also: Utah down ballot state executive elections, 2012

Incumbent Auston Johnson (R) ran for re-election in 2012 but lost in the primary. John Dougall (R) defeated Mark Sage (D) and Richard Proctor (C) in the November 6, 2012 general election.

Utah State Auditor General Election, 2012
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	Mark Sage	29.5%	259,576
	Republican	John Dougall	65.4%	575,677
	Constitution	Richard Proctor	5.2%	45,373
Total Votes				880,626
Election results via Utah Lieutenant Governor (dead link)

2008

On November 4, 2008, Auston Johnson won re-election to the office of Utah State Auditor. He defeated Clare Collard (D), Mike Stoddard (L) and Richard D. Proctor (C) in the general election.

Utah State Auditor, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Auston Johnson Incumbent	58.4%	527,381
	Democratic	Clare Collard	31.6%	285,417
	Libertarian	Mike Stoddard	6.2%	55,992
	Constitution	Richard D. Proctor	3.7%	33,800
Total Votes				902,590
Election results via Elections.utah.gov.

2004

On November 2, 2004, Auston Johnson won re-election to the office of Utah State Auditor. He defeated Carlos Vasquez (D), Valerie S. Larsen (PC) and Mike Stoddard (L) in the general election.

Utah State Auditor, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Auston Johnson Incumbent	62.5%	552,982
	Democratic	Carlos Vasquez	28.7%	253,940
	Personal Choice	Valerie S. Larsen	4.7%	41,308
	Libertarian	Mike Stoddard	4.2%	36,767
Total Votes				884,997
Election results via Elections.utah.gov.

2000

On November 7, 2000, Auston G. Johnson won re-election to the office of Utah State Auditor. He ran unopposed in the general election.

Utah State Auditor, 2000
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Republican	Auston G. Johnson Incumbent	100%	521,602
	Write-In	Tony Bereshny	0%	5
Total Votes				521,607
Election results via Elections.utah.gov.

Recent news[edit]

The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Utah Auditor. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.

Utah Auditor election, 2016 - Google News

External links[edit]

Suggest a link

Utah Office of the State Auditor

Footnotes[edit]

↑ Project Vote Smart, "Voter Registration: Utah," accessed January 3, 2014
↑ In many states, the party nomination takes the form of an endorsement, with the nominee decided in the primary elections. In other states, the custom is for candidates who are defeated at the party convention to bow out of the race, though they are not required to do so, leaving the primary effectively a formality. Conversely, some states conduct conventions after the primary, making the nominating convention a formality.
↑ The Dallas Morning News, "Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch forced into primary fight," April 21, 2012
↑ National Records and Archives Administration, "Historical election results," accessed June 21, 2016

[utvotesmart-1] Project Vote Smart, "Voter Registration: Utah," accessed January 3, 2014

[2] In many states, the party nomination takes the form of an endorsement, with the nominee decided in the primary elections. In other states, the custom is for candidates who are defeated at the party convention to bow out of the race, though they are not required to do so, leaving the primary effectively a formality. Conversely, some states conduct conventions after the primary, making the nominating convention a formality.

[3] The Dallas Morning News, "Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch forced into primary fight," April 21, 2012

[4] National Records and Archives Administration, "Historical election results," accessed June 21, 2016

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

	v • e State of Utah Salt Lake City (capital)
Elections	What's on my ballot? \| Elections in 2024 \| How to vote \| How to run for office \| Ballot measures
Government	Who represents me? \| U.S. President \| U.S. Congress \| Federal courts \| State executives \| State legislature \| State and local courts \| Counties \| Cities \| School districts \| Public policy

Utah Auditor election, 2016

Contents