I wish to thank Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson for not bending — despite threats of prosecution — to the federal government’s demand that she turn over Utah’s voter rolls to the Department of Justice. We desperately need more Republicans like her. The Department of Justice wants the rolls — which contain troves of sensitive data — to search for and remove individuals whose voter registration it concludes was obtained by fraud. Yet only state election officials have the constitutionally mandated authority and hands-on expertise to make such determinations fairly and accurately.
Read more October 2026 general conference: Talk summaries, photos
I appreciate Henderson’s understanding of American democracy in which federal elections are administered by the 50 states, their counties and polling districts. State administration guarantees that votes are never subject to a single totalizing entity. Such decentralized control disperses the immense labor of officiating a federal election — and in that dispersal reduces any single actor’s power to rig or sway election results.
Read more Trust Christ’s ability to love, lift and give peace, but don’t gamble, Latter-day Saint leaders say
Federal infringement on state control attacks a remarkably effective system, or set of 50 systems, and affronts the dedicated people nationwide who make our complex electoral process work. Henderson deserves our respect and gratitude for holding the line on one aspect of that process: state responsibility for — and control over — voter rolls and their meticulous ongoing maintenance.
Read more Deseret News archives: Larry H. Miller got the Delta Center built — on time
Dian Saderup Monson,
Provo, UT