SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Republican is suing after losing an election to a Navajo candidate in a southern Utah county dogged by allegations of voter discrimination.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Kelly Laws is asking a judge to overturn Democrat Willie Grayeyes’ victory in the San Juan County commission race over questions about whether he is truly a Utah resident.
County officials have already tried to remove Grayeyes from the ballot after finding he lives primarily over the nearby Arizona border, but a judge reversed that decision after finding the county clerk falsified the complaint by improperly backdating it.
U.S. District Judge David Nuffer did not rule directly on the residency issue.
Grayeyes says the residency questions are a political attack as Navajos are poised to form a majority of the commission for the first time.
