Why this speech on elections is exactly what Utahns need to hear

This week I attended Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson’s timely speech on the 2024 elections. She spoke with authority, courage and grace as she explained that attacks on our elections and the people who run them are attacks on the very institutions that protect our liberty. She said Utahns must support our election process, commit to accept the results of the 2024 elections and take responsibility for our own ballot. I applaud her courageous leadership.
She delivered the substantive and polished speech to a standing-room-only crowd at the University of Utah’s Hinckley Institute of Politics. Ninety percent of the room was students — a point not lost on me. Those in leadership positions today owe a special obligation to the rising generation. They listen to our words and watch our actions.
The lieutenant governor’s mother was also in attendance, which underlined the seriousness and personal nature of her message. Clearly, this speech drew from our lieutenant governor’s inner core and sense of right and wrong.
She is more than worried; she’s alarmed. That happens when envelopes containing white powder are mailed to your office. But she made clear it’s more than the dangerous and extreme edges of society that causes concern. Lt. Gov. Henderson warned the volume and intensity of destructive election efforts are seeping into the political center. She said, “We risk losing everything.”
Her appeals were coming from the only female statewide elected leader in our state. Whether it’s the League of Women Voters, Mormon Women for Ethical Government or the female majority on the Utah Supreme Court, women are making a big difference in public policy in Utah. They are also a huge voting bloc.
The impact of women in Utah’s public square is not new. The lieutenant governor shared in vivid detail Utah’s journey to statehood and women’s right to vote. Women had no formal role in our state’s Constitutional Convention, but according to Henderson, “they had something more powerful than words. They had presence. Resolve … they knew they were right to demand equality … and they would not be denied.”
A long discussion ensued at the convention about how giving women the right to vote might compromise our application for statehood. Utah had already been denied seven times. Was it worth the risk? In the end those in attendance concluded, according to Henderson, that “if the price of statehood is the disenfranchisement of one-half the people … then it is not worth the price.”
We risked statehood because of our commitment to free and representative government. She asked, why do we now put that at risk?
The lieutenant governor made clear that legitimate criticisms about elections are welcome. Even though county clerks meticulously count all legal ballots, a small amount of error exists. That’s the nature of a decentralized system run by humans. The system can always improve, and she made it clear we must be steadfast in that improvement.
But that’s not what this speech was about. This speech was about harassment, intimidation, attacks and sabotage that are made to undermine and subvert a system we hold dear. She said such actions “advance a political agenda, not the public interest.”
During the media scrum, she was asked about her motivation for the speech. She explained, “I have to do what’s right.” She said the truth is boring and it’s hard to combat all the accusations. “I’m very concerned.”
Another reporter asked how voters could tell the difference between legitimate concerns and serious problems in our elections. She said, “Look at the source.”
Authoritative sources exist for basic information. There is nothing better than VOTE.UTAH.GOV.
In the end, she said she was worried about the people in the center — the vast majority of Utahns. She said, “That’s who I’m speaking to today.” She’s doing her part, in her words, “to hold the middle together.”
When she finished her speech, she received a standing ovation. I took note. This woman was standing for something, and people are standing for her.
Natalie Gochnour serves as an associate dean in the David Eccles School of Business and director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah. She also serves as the chief economist for the Salt Lake Chamber.