Candidates for Cache County Clerk discuss Utahns' election concerns at public forum

The Cache Valley League of Women Voters hosted a forum with candidates for Cache County Council, Utah State Legislature and Utah State Senate on Monday evening at the First Presbyterian Church in Logan. The candidates for Cache County Clerk repeatedly returned to an issue that is of great concern to Utahns right now: election security.

The candidates for Cache County Clerk are incumbent Bryson Behm and challenger David R. Gillie.

The big topic of the evening was election security. Gillie reiterated his stance against postal voting and Behm emphasized how he had ensured greater cleanliness in the election process during his term in office.

Behm was appointed interim Cache County clerk in April following the resignation of his predecessor, David Benson. Behm mentioned several times that the previous county clerk had broken over 30 state election laws. Behm also shared that he has since implemented several security measures to ensure a safe election, including tightening the chain of command for voting.

Gillie, who had never run for public office before, cited his 30 years of experience in the Navy as a qualifying criterion for his candidacy. During his service, Gillie rose to the rank of commander. After retiring, he decided to run for county clerk, receiving the support of Cache County conservatives. He has repeatedly spoken out against mail-in voting, saying he wants to encourage the general public to turn away from mail-in voting.

Incumbent Behm said in his closing remarks that now was not the time for practical training. He reminded the audience that he was the only one on the stage who had conducted an election and done so safely. He explained that the previous election official had no election experience and that was clearly evident.

Gillie assured the crowd that he is fully capable of developing new processes. He said he is already working with two state legislators to begin changing election laws, but did not provide details.