This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2008, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
This article originally ran Aug. 9, 2008.
MANILA - The voter-registration fraud scandal that has plagued this tiny community on the north slope of the Uinta Mountains since the November 2006 election looks to be ending with a whimper, rather than a bang.
On Friday, the Utah Attorney General's Office dispensed with 28 of the 51 defendants in the case through so-called “diversion agreements” before 8th District Judge A. Lynn Payne.
If those defendants commit no crimes in the next six months, the class A misdemeanor charge filed against each will disappear.
The flap stems from the election for county sheriff when challenger Rick Ellsworth defeated incumbent Alan Campbell by 20 votes out of 594 cast. Prior to balloting, Campbell had complained to state officials that the voter rolls were swelling abnormally in the county that has a full-time population of about 900.
The close election and fraud charges have divided folks in the Flaming Gorge area and served as a source of embarrassment for the small county and its government.
The controversy became so hot that the Daggett County Commission refused to renew the contract of County Attorney Brian Sidwell, who had been prosecuting the cases.
Previously, three defendants pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of class B misdemeanor attempt to fraudulently register to vote. Zachary Millett, Brandon C. Ellsworth and Charles C. Rich were fined $500 and sentenced to 30-day jail sentences. The jail time was suspended.
It appears as though the balance of the cases will be adjudicated through diversion agreements.
Defendant Patricia Moore agreed to a diversion pact Friday. She and her husband and other family members live along the Wasatch Front but spend half their time at a second home in Daggett County.
“I'm not thrilled with it. But it's over, and we didn't have to pay for an attorney.”
Moore said Daggett County officials told her that she could vote in the county - as long as it was the only place she voted.
“I think this is a face-saving measure,” she said of Friday's action.
Another person to take a diversion agreement Friday was Sarah Ellsworth, the sheriff's niece. She conceded she didn't live in Daggett County, but said at the time of the election, she was contemplating moving to the area.
Assistant A.G. Pat Nolan told the judge that the diversion agreements were the best way to deal with defendants who didn't live in the county but who believed they had been advised they could vote in Daggett anyway.
The agreements "represent our best judgment on how to achieve accountability but at the same time be fair.”
Payne said he had hoped that residents and property owners could come together.
“This has been an issue that has divided this community,” he said. “I hope the community can get beyond it.”
The flap
* Rick Ellsworth ran against and defeated Daggett County Sheriff Alan Campbell by 20 votes out of 594 cast.
* Prior to balloting Campbell complained that voter rolls were swelling in the county
of about 900.
* Three defendants pleaded guilty to a class B misdemeanor attempt to fraudulently register to vote.
* On Friday the A.G. dispensed of 28 of the 51 defendants in the case though "diversion agreements."