SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — The Office of the Lieutenant Governor sent an email to voters after Richard Lyman and Carol Ann Lyman, write-in candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, withdrew from the 2024 race after filing for office in September.

In the body of the email – sent with the subject line “Notice of Candidate Withdrawal” – Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson’s office informed voters of the status of Lymans’ candidacy. In that email, the lieutenant governor’s office also wrote that the message should be sent to voters under the Utah Code.

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According to Utah code 20A-9-207Because the Lymans withdrew within 65 days of the election, the email notification had to be sent “to every voter eligible to vote in the race for public office” who had an email address on file.

The email was required by law to inform voters that a candidate has withdrawn and that any votes cast for that candidate will not be counted, even if their name is still on the ballot.

The email from the lieutenant governor’s office read in part:

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Utah Code 20A-9-207 also requires that opposing candidates be notified of the withdrawal and that the withdrawal be posted on a public website. The lieutenant governor’s office sent voters to vote.utah.gov to see the latest candidate information.

On October 25, Richard and Carol Lyman released a statement discussing their withdrawal amid the crisis legal action taken against them by fellow write-in candidate Phil Lyman (no relation to the other Lymans).

“Before we even submitted our candidacy, a plan was already in motion to push us out of the race,” Richard and Carol Lyman said in their statement. “This plan culminated in a frivolous lawsuit that we simply cannot afford to fight. The claims in this lawsuit are false and we want to make it unequivocally clear that we did nothing wrong and broke no laws.”

What’s next?

Phil Lyman is still running as a write-in candidate, with Natalie Clawson as his running mate for lieutenant governor. Incumbent Governor Spencer Cox received the Republican nomination, and Brian Smith King is the Democratic candidate for governor.

On October 26, Phil Lyman’s campaign issued a press release acknowledging Richard Lyman’s withdrawal from the race and also referencing allegations that Richard Lyman is being paid to run Governor Spencer Cox’s campaign.

“We respect Richard and Carol’s decision to withdraw and believe it is a positive development that will help simplify the counting of write-in ballots on November 5,” Phil Lyman said in the press release.

Phil Lyman filed the lawsuit against the other Lyman candidates on October 16, but made clear in his October 26 press release that he and Clawson were not withdrawing from the race. Phil Lyman encouraged voters to write his full name on the ballot so they could vote for him in the Nov. 5 election.

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