For this reason, voters were informed by email about Richard Lyman's withdrawal: What's next in the race?

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 declaring their candidacy in September.

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

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Accordingly Utah Code 20A-9-207Because the Lymans resigned less than 65 days before 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The email was required by law to inform voters that a candidate has withdrawn their candidacy and that votes cast for that candidate will not be counted, even if their name is still on the ballot.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 said, in part:

Who is running in Utah for the November 5, 2024 general election?

Utah Code 20A-9-207 also requires opposing candidates to be notified of the withdrawal and have the withdrawal noted on a public website. The lieutenant governor's office alerted voters to this vote.utah.gov to see the latest information on candidates.

On October 25, Richard and Carol Lyman released a statement regarding their withdrawal fellow write-in candidate Phil Lyman has taken legal action against her (unrelated to the other Lymans).

“Before we even filed our candidacy, there was already a plan in place to force 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 allegations in this lawsuit are false and we want to make it abundantly clear that we have done nothing wrong or broken any laws.”

What's next?

Phil Lyman is still running as a candidate, Natalie Clawson is his candidate 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 confirming and citing Richard Lyman's withdrawal from the race Allegations that Richard Lyman was paid by Gov. Spencer Cox's campaign to run for office.

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

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

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