Kaufusi and Spencer Win Utah County Commission Seats in Early Election Results

Republicans Michelle Kaufusi and David Spencer won the two open seats on the Utah County Commission, according to early, unofficial results from election night on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026. Republicans also led or won every other countywide race, the Daily Herald and KSL reported. Beyond the county ballot, Utah voters sent a Democrat to Congress from a newly drawn Salt Lake County district, rejected a constitutional amendment that would have made tax-related citizen initiatives harder to pass, and, in early returns, left a number of Republican legislative incumbents trailing. Nationally, CBS News and the Fox News Decision Desk projected that Democrats won the U.S. House, and CBS projected a Democratic Senate majority as well.

This page pulls those results into one place, with the source and the time stamp attached to each number. Everything here is early and unofficial. Counties have not canvassed their returns, and the state canvass is still weeks away. Where we could not confirm something, we say so and point to where the number will eventually live.

What the numbers are, and when they were taken

Different outlets froze their numbers at different moments, and the differences matter when you compare them. KSL's county figures were as of about 9:15 p.m. Tuesday, and its story was posted at 10:31 p.m. The Daily Herald, in a story by Jacob Nielson, called its figures "early, unofficial results" released Tuesday night and did not give an as-of time. Utah County's own elections site showed a daily reconciliation last updated at 2:37 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 4, with 105,491 ballots counted and another 8,900 verified but not yet counted. The Salt Lake Tribune's live blog was last updated at 12:07 a.m. Wednesday, and NBC News's Utah page we read carried a 10:07 a.m. Eastern time stamp.

When two outlets disagree by a point or two on the same race, the usual explanation is that one took its snapshot earlier. We have tried to name the outlet and the time every time a figure appears. Treat all of it as a snapshot until the canvass.

Utah County Commission: Seats A and B

Two of the three commission seats were on the ballot, and both were open. Commissioners Brandon Gordon and Amelia Powers Gardner did not seek reelection, the Daily Herald and KSL reported. The Herald added that Kaufusi and Spencer had each lost a municipal reelection bid a year earlier, in the 2025 city elections.

Seat A. Kaufusi, a Republican and the former two-term Provo mayor, had 61.65% and 57,205 votes. Democrat Jeanne Marie Bowen had 30.97% and 28,732 votes, and Jacob D. Oaks of the Independent American Party had 7.38% and 6,849 votes, according to the Herald's table. KSL rounded Bowen to "just over 30%" and Oaks to 7.4%. The Herald's text gave Kaufusi's share as 61.66% in one place while its table said 61.65%, a rounding difference that will disappear in the official report. Counting only the three candidates' totals, about 92,800 votes had been cast in the race, and Kaufusi led Bowen by 28,473.

Seat B. Spencer, a Republican and a former three-term Orem city councilman, had 55.96% and 51,680 votes. Democrat J. Allen had 34.71% and 32,052 votes, and David Hinckley of the Forward Party had 9.34% and 8,622 votes. KSL said Spencer "appears to" have secured the seat, and described his share as nearly 56%. The three candidates' totals add up to about 92,350 votes, and Spencer led Allen by 19,628.

Both Republican nominees had come through contested primaries on June 23. In the Herald's preliminary primary results, Kaufusi beat Brent Bowles 55.73% to 44.27% (22,154 votes to 17,598). Spencer led a three-way field with 42.10% (16,519 votes), ahead of Isaac Paxman with 35.21% (13,815) and Carolina Herrin with 22.68% (8,899). Those were preliminary figures from the day after the primary.

Seat A's winner has a recent history with local government. Kaufusi served as Provo mayor from January 2018 until January 2026, as our Provo mayor's office guide explains, and that guide also covers the November 2025 city election in which Marsha Judkins won the office. Neither KSL nor the Herald said when Kaufusi and Spencer will be sworn in. More on what the two seats control is below, and in our Utah County Commission guide.

The other countywide offices

County Clerk. Corey K. Astill, a Republican, had 67.84% and 59,019 votes. Russ J. Rampton of the Forward Party had 32.16% and 27,983 votes. KSL described Astill as a former congressional legislative aide and lawyer and Rampton as a supervisor in the clerk's Marriage License and Passport office. Astill had already beaten incumbent Aaron Davidson in the June Republican primary, 21,674 votes (55.74%) to 17,208 (44.07%) in the Herald's preliminary count. Astill's lead in the general election was about 31,000 votes. The clerk's office runs the county's elections, which is why this race matters on a night like this one. Our Utah County Clerk office guide lays out the office's four jobs.

County Auditor. Gina Tanner, a Republican and a budget manager in the County Auditor's office, had 73.73% and 64,057 votes. Hans V. Andersen of the Independent American Party, a certified public accountant, had 26.27% and 22,820 votes. The Herald's story called this race the clerk race in one sentence, but its results table lists it under Auditor, and KSL's numbers match the table.

Sheriff and County Attorney. Sheriff Mike Smith (R) and County Attorney Jeff Gray (R) were unopposed. The Herald's list showed Smith with 71,915 votes and Gray with 71,693 votes, each at 100 percent, and described both as reelected. The vote totals in uncontested races run lower than those in the commission races, a normal pattern, because not every voter marks every line of a ballot.

The Herald summarized the county outcome this way: four newcomers were elected to county positions, Kaufusi, Spencer, Astill and Tanner, while Gray and Smith were reelected without opposition.

School board races

School board seats are nonpartisan in Utah, and the Herald's list marked every candidate as unaffiliated.

Nebo School District. In District 2, Scott P. Card had 63.37% and 2,524 votes to Joseph Earnest's 36.63% and 1,459. In District 4, Rick B. Ainge, the incumbent, had 59.47% and 2,406 votes to Perry C. Ewell's 40.53% and 1,640. Shannon M. Acor was unopposed in District 5 with 2,504 votes. The Herald's text said two Nebo seats were up, while its results table listed three, so the District 5 race may not have been counted in its description. Ainge's race had a June preview: in the preliminary primary count he led with 1,268 votes (48.9%) ahead of Ewell with 819 (31.59%) and Braden Jensen with 506 (19.51%), and the two top finishers then met in November. See our Nebo School District guide for how the district is organized.

Provo City School District. All four Provo school board seats listed were unopposed and all four were reelected, per the Herald: Lisa Boyce in District 1 (1,646 votes), Melanie Hall in District 2 (1,407), Megan Van Wagenen in District 3 (738) and Jennifer Partridge in District 4 (1,161). The Provo City School District guide covers how the board meets and what it decides.

State Board of Education. The Utah State Board of Education also has seats that touch Utah County. In the Daily Herald's preliminary June primary results, Linda Hanks led Nichole Beecher Isom in District 14, 69.11% to 30.89%, and Tracy Nuttall led Terry Hutchinson in District 11, 52.46% to 47.54%. In the general election, Mid-Utah Radio's unofficial tally listed Hanks alone on the District 14 line with 42,281 votes. We did not find a general-election number for District 11. The Salt Lake Tribune's live blog reported that, as of 9:30 p.m., three of the 15 state board seats could shift to Democrats, which would give that party five seats.

Judges on the ballot

Judges did not face opponents, but voters decided whether to retain them. Mid-Utah Radio published unofficial yes and no totals. Utah Supreme Court Justice Jill M. Pohlman had 425,439 yes votes and 114,205 no votes, about 78.8% yes. For the Utah Court of Appeals, the yes share ran from about 73.5% (John David Luthy, 387,137 to 139,231) to about 80.7% (Michele M. Christiansen Forster, 429,210 to 102,349).

Mid-Utah Radio also listed Fourth District Court judges, with these unofficial totals: Anthony Leonard Howell 71,776 yes to 28,803 no (about 71.4% yes), Jared William Eldridge 76,553 to 19,715 (about 79.5%), Kraig Powell 74,242 to 22,165 (about 77.0%) and Thomas Low 68,860 to 26,870 (about 71.9%). Fourth Juvenile Court Judge Douglas John Nielsen had 77,554 yes to 18,023 no (about 81.1%). Every judge in those lists had well over half of the votes cast in favor of retention in the unofficial count. Our Utah County courts guide explains what the Fourth District Court handles.

Utah's congressional races

Utah voted under a new, court-ordered congressional map. The Daily Herald reported in March that the Utah Supreme Court had affirmed the new map, and that Reps. Celeste Maloy and Mike Kennedy were announcing reelection plans in the new districts.

For Utah Valley, the map matters because it split the county between two districts. The Herald reported that District 3 covers Provo and Orem plus southern and eastern Utah, and District 4 covers northern and western Utah County plus western Utah.

District 3. Republican Rep. Celeste Maloy, who now represents the 2nd District, ran in the new 3rd. The Salt Lake Tribune's live blog said she won with 58.2% to Democrat Kent Udell's roughly 36% and that the AP called the race around 10 p.m. The NBC News results page, at 10:07 a.m. Eastern on Nov. 4 with 56.2% of the vote counted, showed Maloy at 57.9% and Udell at 35.4%. Mid-Utah Radio's unofficial vote counts, which match NBC's total of 169,137 votes, were: Maloy 97,974, Udell 59,899, Cassie Easley 4,636, Michael R. Stoddard 3,213, Ayden Scott 2,428 and Adonis Hooslyn 987. Maloy had won her June 23 primary against Phil Lyman. In the state's certified primary canvass, Utah County gave Maloy 22,157 votes and Lyman 10,704, and she won the district-wide primary with 65.7% of the 102,169 votes cast. The Herald's preliminary count the day after the primary had her at 70% in the county, so the certified number is a reminder that early percentages move.

District 4. Republican Rep. Mike Kennedy, who currently represents the 3rd, ran in the new 4th. Burgess Owens, who represents the current 4th, did not seek reelection, the Herald reported. The Tribune's blog had Kennedy ahead of Democrat Jonny Larsen 52.6% to 40% overnight. NBC's page, with 56.5% counted at 10:07 a.m. Eastern, showed Kennedy at 51.9% and Larsen at 41.6%. Mid-Utah Radio's tally, which matches NBC's total of 167,676 votes, listed Kennedy 87,002, Larsen 69,735, Steven Burt 6,299 and Taylor Wright 4,640. We did not find an AP call for District 4 in the sources we read, and NBC's page showed no call at that hour.

District 2. Republican Blake Moore. The Tribune blog had Moore ahead of Democrat Peter Crosby 49.6% to 43.7% as of 9:39 p.m., and NBC's page showed 49.8% to 43.2% with 67.8% counted. KSL's front page carried a headline saying Moore declared a win. District 2 is in northern Utah and does not include most of Utah County.

District 1. The new 1st District, in Salt Lake County, elected Democrat Ben McAdams. The Tribune's blog said he returns to Congress at 12:06 a.m., becoming Utah's first Democratic member of Congress in six years. He led Republican Riley Owen 72% to 25% at 9:20 p.m. by the Tribune's account. CBS News's House page put the projection at 12:39 a.m. Eastern and treated it as a new Democratic-leaning seat rather than a flip. Deseret News's live blog noted that Utah had no U.S. Senate or governor's race this year.

The Utah Legislature

The legislative picture is the part of Utah's ballot with the largest swing in the early numbers, and also the part with the most uncertainty about Utah County. The sources we could read did not tie legislative district numbers to counties or cities, so we cannot tell you from them which House seats are in Utah County. Utah County's elections site, vote.utahcounty.gov, posts a candidate list and a 2026 sample ballot, and vote.utah.gov is the state's voter information site. Your sample ballot shows which districts you vote in.

Here is what we can say from the fetched sources. The sources we fetched did not map Utah Senate districts to counties, so we do not state which districts fall inside Utah County. The Utah News Dispatch's election-night list, which gave percentages but no vote counts, included these races, and you can confirm your own district on the Utah County Clerk's elections site.

Senate District 18. Republican Doug Fiefia led Democrat A. Dane Anderson 55.73% to 44.27%, per the Utah News Dispatch's election-night list. Fiefia had knocked out incumbent Sen. Daniel McCay in the June primary. The Herald's preliminary primary count had it 5,067 votes (69.08%) to 2,268 (30.92%), and the state's certified primary canvass had Fiefia at 7,038 votes (69.5%) to McCay's 3,088 (30.5%) across the district's counties. Within Utah County, the certified canvass counted 276 votes for Fiefia and 132 for McCay.

Senate District 21. Republican Sen. Brady Brammer led with 56.09%. Democrat Kandee Myers had 30.14% and Wayne Woodfield of the Forward Party had 13.77%. Brammer had beaten Kelly Smith in the primary, 4,753 votes (55.71%) to 3,778 (44.29%), in the Herald's preliminary count.

Senate District 23. Republican Sen. Keith Grover led Democrat Tucker Smith 53.78% to 46.22%. The count is early and not final.

The House. All 75 House districts were on the ballot. In the Utah News Dispatch's election-night list, which gave percentages but no vote counts:

• Democrats led in 29 districts, including three where only the Democrat was listed, and unaffiliated candidates led in two (House District 3, Patrick Belmont over incumbent Jason Thompson, 58.77% to 41.23%, and House District 38, Sergio Sotelo, 56.23% to 43.77% over Chris McConnehey). Republicans led in the other 44.
• At least 14 Republican incumbents were trailing, by our count of the list, including Jason B. Kyle (HD8), Jake Sawyer (HD9), Melissa Ballard (HD20), Matt Macpherson (HD26), Anthony Loubet (HD27), Jim Dunnigan (HD36), Ken Ivory (HD39), Clint Okerlund (HD42), Steve Eliason (HD43), Jordan Teuscher (HD44), Jake Hunsaker (HD48) and Norm Thurston (HD62), along with Tiara Auxier (HD4) and Thompson.
• Races within about five points included HD11 (Katy Hall, R, 50.54% to Dave Calder, D, 49.46%), HD16 (Bob J. Stevenson, R, 50.95% to Abigail Treasure, D, 49.05%), HD59 (Celeste T. Johnson, D, 50.10% to Luke Searle, R, 49.90%), HD61 (Lisa Shepherd, R, 49.48%, Alan Jimenez, D, 47.28%), HD49 (Candice B. Pierucci, R, 51.17% to Lillian Bowles, D, 48.83%), HD48 (Benyde Walker, D, 51.43% to Hunsaker, 48.57%), HD52 (Cory Maloy, R, 51.79% to Nicole Melling, D, 47.13%) and HD7, HD8, HD20, HD45.
• Races with a single listed candidate: HD19, HD21, HD34, HD40, HD47, HD60 and HD65.

On the Senate side, the same list showed Democrats leading in six of the 15 seats up (Districts 5, 9, 12, 13, 14 and 19). Senate Majority Leader Kirk Cullimore (R) trailed Democrat Shana Anderson 56.74% to 43.26% in District 19. District 11 was nearly even: Brooks Benson (R) had 50.16% to Utah Forward's Emily Buss, the sitting senator, at 49.84%.

The Tribune's live blog cautioned that remaining Election Day votes likely lean Republican in the legislative races, so the counts could narrow. We did not find any source stating the final party balance in either chamber, and we did not find a source on whether any party gained or lost a supermajority. Those answers have to wait for the canvass.

Statewide ballot measures

Utah voters saw two constitutional amendments. There was no U.S. Senate or governor's race.

Amendment B failed. It would have required 60% voter approval, instead of a simple majority, for citizen initiatives that raise taxes. The Associated Press projected that it failed, KSL reported, calling it shortly after 9:30 p.m. KSL's 10 p.m. update, based on more than 595,000 votes, showed 62% against and 38% for. Fox 13 also reported about 62% against with the AP call around 10:15 p.m. Mid-Utah Radio's unofficial tally later showed 430,908 against and 227,386 for, about 65.5% against. The Salt Lake Tribune's 11:15 p.m. snapshot had it trailing 71% to 29%. The gap between those figures is a function of timing and where votes had been counted, and the official canvass will settle it.

The measure's sponsor, Sen. Lincoln Fillmore, R-South Jordan, said the aim was to protect Utah families from out-of-state groups funding tax-raising measures, and KSL quoted him saying that if people want to raise their neighbors' taxes, they should have broad neighborhood support. Opponents included Phil Lyman, who told voters they "saw through the smoke and mirrors," and Scott Cuthbertson, spokesperson for the opposition group Utahns Protecting Our Constitution, who called the campaign "entirely driven by Utah families and taxpayers." KSL reported that group spent more than $3 million, much from out-of-state donors. The Tribune reported about $1.7 million in opposition from the Fairness Project and about $100,000 in support from Americans for Prosperity, plus about $20,000 from the Taxpayer Shield PAC, which the Utah Taxpayers Association formed. The Tribune also noted that a Noble Predictive Insights poll in early September found 50% support to 21% opposition, and a late-October poll found 34% support to 56% opposition. For background, the Tribune said Utah has had the initiative power since 1900, and that the 2018 Medicaid expansion and medical marijuana measures, which barely topped 50%, would have needed 60% under Amendment B. For the question as voters saw it on their ballot, see our ballot guide.

Amendment A passed in early results. It removes the constitutional requirement that proposed amendments be published in newspapers in each county for two months before an election. Future notices would run "in a manner provided by statute," and the amendment shifts the timing from two months to 60 days. KSL's 9:52 p.m. update, based on more than 580,000 votes, had about 60% yes and 40% no. Mid-Utah Radio's tally showed 412,592 yes and 272,733 no, about 60.2% yes. The Tribune's 11:15 p.m. snapshot, in contrast, had it leading 53% to 47%. Fox 13 reported the state voter pamphlet estimates savings of up to $1.4 million every two years, and that the Legislature passed the resolution unanimously last year, so the pamphlet has no formal opposing argument. A companion bill, HB481, would take effect Jan. 1, 2027 if voters approve the amendment, and would require the Legislature to publish amendment text on the state's Public Notice Website and its own website. On the background, KSL noted that a district judge invalidated Amendment D in 2024, citing in part a failure to publicize it properly, and the Tribune noted that the Utah Supreme Court invalidated two proposed amendments in 2024 because they were not published in newspapers.

Results for both measures are unofficial. KSL reported the state board of canvassers meets Nov. 23 to certify.

Local ballot questions and city races

Utah holds its municipal elections in odd-numbered years, which is why they do not share a ballot with presidential or midterm races, as our Provo mayor's office guide explains. So regular city races for mayor or council in Provo, Orem, Lehi, American Fork, Spanish Fork and the other Utah County cities were not due in 2026, and we saw none in the results we read. Provo's last city election was Nov. 4, 2025, when the mayor and three council seats were decided, and Provo's Board of Canvassers certified those results on Nov. 18, 2025, according to the same guide. For how Provo's council works between elections, see how to follow Provo City Council.

We did not find any city ballot question in Utah County in the results we read. The sources we read did mention local contests elsewhere in the state: KSL and the Tribune noted a Salt Lake County bond that was set to pass, and the Tribune reported Democrats leading three of four contested seats and on track to flip the Salt Lake County Council for the first time since 2010.

National results

We could not retrieve the Associated Press's own results pages, so the national picture below comes from CBS News, the Fox News Decision Desk and the Tribune and Deseret News live blogs. Their projections are election-night calls, several races were still uncalled on Wednesday morning, and the figures will change.

House. CBS News projected that Democrats won control of the U.S. House at 10:15 p.m. Eastern on Nov. 3, according to its live blog, and its House page put the control post at 10:29 p.m. Fox News said its Decision Desk determined Democrats retook the House. CBS reported that Republicans held 219 seats (including one independent who caucuses with the GOP, though a separate passage said 218), Democrats held 214 and there were two vacancies, and that Democrats needed a net gain of three seats. Early Wednesday CBS estimated Democrats could win 259 seats and said the final number could be lower. Fox reported House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said the projected majority could be 250 to 255 seats, and a CBS election-day page estimated 251 to 268. About 75 races were still undetermined at about 4:20 a.m. Eastern, CBS said. Among the flips CBS listed were Pennsylvania's 1st (Bob Harvie over Brian Fitzpatrick), Ohio's 7th (Brian Poindexter over Max Miller), North Carolina's 11th (Jamie Ager, an open seat) and three of Iowa's four seats.

Senate. CBS News projected Democratic control of the Senate at 11:44 p.m. Eastern, and its page, updated at 9:49 a.m. Eastern on Nov. 4, said Democrats had secured at least 54 seats. Two races were unresolved, both Republican-held: Alaska (Sen. Dan Sullivan against Mary Peltola) and Mississippi (Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith against Scott Colom, whom CBS had ahead by 43 votes at 1:18 a.m. Eastern). CBS listed seven Democratic flips: Texas (James Talarico over Ken Paxton), South Carolina (Annie Andrews over Darline Graham), Kansas (Adam Hamilton over Roger Marshall), Maine (Troy Jackson over Susan Collins), Iowa (Josh Turek over Ashley Hinson), Ohio (Sherrod Brown over Jon Husted) and North Carolina (Roy Cooper over Michael Whatley). Democrats also held Georgia, Michigan, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Virginia, among other seats, according to CBS. Republicans held Florida, Nebraska, Montana, Louisiana and other seats. Before the election, CBS said Democrats needed a net gain of four seats.

Governors. CBS reported Democratic wins in Texas (Gina Hinojosa over Greg Abbott), Georgia (Keisha Lance Bottoms over Rick Jackson), Ohio (Amy Acton over Vivek Ramaswamy) and Iowa (Rob Sand over Zach Lahn), and a Republican win in Florida (Byron Donalds over David Jolly). Fox's blog also projected Democrat Aaron Ford over Joe Lombardo in Nevada, Democrat Jocelyn Benson over John James in Michigan, and Republican wins in Alabama (Tommy Tuberville), Nebraska (Jim Pillen) and Tennessee (Marsha Blackburn).

Ballot measures elsewhere. Fox's live blog reported early returns on school sports eligibility measures: Washington's Initiative 638 led 57% to 43% with about 60% counted, Colorado's Proposition 134 led 52% to 48% with about 75% counted, and Arizona's Proposition 318 led 59% to 41% with about 83% counted. The Tribune noted an Idaho abortion measure, which the LDS Church opposed, had an early lead but was trailing in its later update. We did not find final results for these measures.

Turnout, and what is still being counted

We could not find a final turnout figure for Utah County's general election, and none will be official until the canvass. Here is what the sources do say.

Before Election Day, the Tribune's live blog reported statewide turnout of about 30% as of 9:35 a.m. Tuesday, with Utah County at 19.3%, the second-lowest in the state, Salt Lake County just under 34%, Grand County at 60% and Rich County at 58.8%. Utah County has about 374,000 active registered voters, according to our ballot guide, which covered the mailing that began Oct. 13. On the county's reconciliation at 2:37 a.m. Wednesday, 105,491 ballots were counted and 8,900 were verified but not yet counted, a combined 114,391. Dividing that combined figure by 374,000 gives roughly 31%, but that is our arithmetic, mixes two dates and is not a turnout figure the county has published. By comparison, the state's certified June 23 primary canvass listed Utah County Republican turnout of 27.3% (59,861 ballots from 219,527 active registered Republican voters), which is a different pool of voters.

Election night had its own delays. The Tribune's live blog reported that long lines delayed results, that the state said it would hold results until lines were under 15 minutes but no later than 9 p.m., and that polls closed at 8 p.m. with anyone in line still allowed to vote. Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said at 8:40 p.m. that some northern Utah counties still had hour-long lines. In Utah County the Tribune described voters queued in cars at the American Fork Library drop-off. The rule for ballots is that mailed ballots must reach the county by the close of polls at 8 p.m., and the county's site says "We can no longer rely on a USPS postmark," so a postmark does not save a late ballot. The county's site says voters can complete a cure letter when officials request one to validate a signature on a return envelope. Our voting in Utah County guide covers the rules, and our report on the ID notice error covers the mailing mistake that sent about 6,144 unneeded ID notices to Utah County voters in October.

Canvass and certification: how results become official

Election night numbers are unofficial. The Utah Code, as published on the Utah Legislature's site, sets out the steps.

County canvass. Each county commission serves as the board of county canvassers, and the county clerk is its clerk. The board meets to canvass the returns on a date and time the clerk sets, no sooner than seven and no later than 14 calendar days after the election. For Nov. 3, that window runs from Nov. 10 through Nov. 17, 2026. We did not find Utah County's date posted. The county's results page listed no canvass or certification for the general election yet, though it does link board of canvassers certification documents for the June primary. Before the board meets, the election officer counts the ballots and prepares a certified summary of the ballots counted and not counted, with the reason for each uncounted ballot. The board then reviews the summary in public and certifies the votes for each candidate and each ballot proposition. The board cannot reject returns over minor errors in the paperwork if it can still determine how many votes each candidate received.

The state's standard statistics for the report include the number of active voters as of the Friday before the election, the total ballots counted, the turnout quotient, the number of provisional ballots that could not be counted, ballots rejected because they could not be cured or were not cured, uncounted ballots received after the deadline and the percentage returned undeliverable. After certification, the county election officer sends a certificate of election to each winning county candidate, publishes a notice of the report within three business days and files the report with the lieutenant governor.

State canvass. The state board of canvassers is the state auditor, the state treasurer and the attorney general. It convenes at noon on the fourth Monday of November, which in 2026 is Nov. 23, in the lieutenant governor's office, and KSL's reports gave the same date. The lieutenant governor serves as the board's secretary. According to the lieutenant governor's conflict-of-interest plan, published in August 2026, the lieutenant governor does not vote on certification. The plan says the state canvass is "merely a review and acceptance of results" canvassed by the 29 county boards, and that there is "no opportunity at a state canvass to alter or challenge reported and canvassed results." Utah law bars the board from withholding a declaration of results because of a defect or informality in the returns if it can determine from them, with reasonable certainty, who was elected.

Recounts. Utah law requires a recount in a tie. A losing candidate may request one if the margin is 0.25 percent or less of all votes cast in the race. The request is due by 5 p.m. on the first business day that is at least three calendar days after the canvass is completed, filed with the county clerk for a race inside one county and with the lieutenant governor for statewide and multi-county races. For a ballot proposition decided by 0.25 percent or less, 10 voters can request a recount and pay for it. A recount must be completed within seven days of the request, after which the board of canvassers meets again and its report becomes the official result. None of the Utah County races above came close to that threshold in the early numbers. In the statewide legislative list, House District 59, where the margin was 0.20 percentage points in the early numbers, was inside it. Utah law also allows an election contest on narrow grounds such as fraud or malconduct sufficient to change the result, or a winner who was not eligible.

When commissioners take office. Neither KSL nor the Daily Herald gave a swearing-in date for Kaufusi, Spencer, Astill or Tanner, and the Utah County sources we read did not either. We did not find a source stating the start date of the new terms, so check the Utah County Clerk's office for the date before you rely on any one you see elsewhere.

What the two commission seats control, and what could change

The county commission is a three-member board that combines legislative and executive roles, according to our Utah County Commission guide. The same three people pass county ordinances, adopt the budget and oversee county departments. Because two commissioners make a majority, two seats on a three-seat board is a control election: the two winners can, between them, adopt a budget or pass an ordinance. The third commissioner's seat was not on the ballot.

The commission is responsible for county functions that cities do not handle: the jail and sheriff's operations, county roads outside city limits, public health programs including the vehicle emissions program, the county justice court and the land-use decisions for unincorporated areas. It also adopts the countywide budget that funds all of it. It does not handle your building permit, your utility bill or your city's code enforcement. Property tax is a related point of confusion, because the county assesses and collects it for taxing entities whose rates it does not set. Our property tax guide walks through who sets what.

Two things the commission does not control are worth separating out. Elections belong to the separately elected County Clerk, who runs the canvass; the commission funds the office but does not run it. And each commissioner oversees an assigned portfolio of departments, and our guide notes those assignments change when the board changes. How the new board divides those portfolios, and how it handles the budget, are open questions we could not answer from any published source.

On the clerk's office, Astill is set to replace the incumbent he beat in the primary. The county's elections site still lists Aaron Davidson as clerk, and we did not find a source that spells out when the handoff happens.

To follow the new board once it is seated, read the agenda and minutes for the county's regular public meetings, which are kept by the clerk's office. Our public meetings directory lists the boards and councils in Utah Valley that give public notice and how to get their agendas. The county's Board of Commissioners also had a public meeting listed for Wednesday, Nov. 4.

How to read election results without getting burned

A few habits make these pages easier to use.

Look for the time stamp. The same race can look different at 9:15 p.m., 12 a.m. and 10 a.m. Every source above carried a time, and the ones that did not are marked.

Check the percent reporting. NBC's page showed 56.2% of the vote counted in District 3 and 67.8% in District 2 at 10:07 a.m. Eastern. A race at 56% is a snapshot of just over half the vote, and which votes have come in first can tilt it in either direction.

Know what an AP call means. A projection or call, whether from AP, CBS, Fox or NBC, is a news organization's judgment that a trailing candidate cannot catch up. It is not certification. KSL's story said Spencer "appears to" have secured his seat, for example, and labeled all of its numbers preliminary.

Compare like with like. Candidate totals in uncontested races are smaller than in contested ones, as the sheriff and county attorney numbers show, and primary turnout is measured against a different pool than a general election.

Expect small differences between outlets. The Daily Herald's story rounded and, in a couple of places, mislabeled the clerk and auditor races in its text while keeping the table correct. Check the table or the official page.

Remember what the margin is. The recount threshold is 0.25 percent of the votes cast in a race. In a race of about 92,800 votes, that is roughly 230 votes, and Kaufusi's lead was more than 28,000. A margin of 0.2 percentage points in a close legislative race is a different story.

Where the official numbers live

• Utah County unofficial results. The county's elections site, vote.utahcounty.gov, links to the unofficial results hosted at electionresults.utah.gov for the Utah County general election of Nov. 3, 2026. It also shows the daily reconciliation. The county's phone is 801-851-VOTE (8683) and its email is elections@utahcounty.gov.
• Statewide and legislative results. The state results site at electionresults.utah.gov shows statewide and multi-county contests, and the lieutenant governor's voter site is vote.utah.gov. vote.utah.gov also lists key dates and canvass information for the 2026 general election.
• Official canvass. Once the county board certifies, the county's results page lists the official summary and board of canvassers certification, as it does for the June primary. The state canvass spreadsheet is published after the state board meets, as the June primary canvass was.
• Public notices. The class A notice of the certified report is published on the Utah Public Notice Website within three business days of the declaration.
• Our guides. Our elections hub covers what is on the ballot and what each office decides, and our caucus guide explains the nomination system that produced the June primaries behind several of these races.

We will update this page when Utah County posts its canvass date and when official results are certified.