By McKenzie Romero | Editor
Two new seats on the Utah Supreme Court have now been filled, though not without concerns from Democrats about the governor’s picks.
With some dissenting votes from Democrats who questioned their experience, and in one case residency, the Utah Senate confirmed Stephen Dent and Jay Jorgensen to the expanded bench, with Republicans offering full-throated confidence.
In today’s Dispatch we report on the confirmation vote for the two new justices, what Senate President Stuart Adams and his primary challengers had to say about data centers, and the challenges with implementing President Donald Trump’s restrictions on voting by mail.
“Not ‘next preceding,’ … ‘Preceding.’ And so that was the comment that I made and wish to have understood in the (committee hearing). Who decides? You decide. The constitution has entrusted in you, the senators, whether a person is qualified for this role.” — Jay Jorgensen, Utah Supreme Court nominee, speaking to Utah senators in response to questions about his residency.
Jay Jorgensen and his wife Melissa talk with Senate President Stuart Adams, R-Layton, during a special legislative session at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, June 17, 2026. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
By Katie McKellar
Utah senators voted to confirm both Stephen Dent, a federal prosecutor, and Jay Jorgensen, who most recently worked as an attorney for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to fill two new seats on the newly expanded Utah Supreme Court.
The 24-5 vote for Dent and 22-7 vote for Jorgensen came mostly along party lines, with Democrats questioning whether Jorgensen meets the five-year constitutional residency requirement to qualify for the post. The Republican supermajority, however, argued the two men were qualified for the post, and the residency concerns weren’t warranted.
From left, candidates Senate President Stuart Adams, Stephanie Hollist and Braden Hess participate in a candidate forum at Sunset Junior High in Sunset, Utah on June 16, 2026. (Katie McKellar/Utah News Dispatch)
By Katie McKellar
Utah Senate President Stuart Adams faced a tough crowd while defending his record on data centers, water for the Great Salt Lake and more ahead of a high-stakes primary next week, when Republican voters will decide whether he’ll stay in the running to keep his longtime District 7 seat.
If applause after each of her answers was any indicator, one of his Republican challengers, Stephanie Hollist, won the room while Adams was at times met with muttering, scoffs or silence. Adams’ other GOP challenger, Braden Hess, garnered scattered applause, but none as enthusiastic as the crowd’s responses for Hollist.
Election workers process ballots at the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
DC BUREAU
By Jonathan Shorman
As election officials across the country steel themselves for the midterm elections in less than five months, President Donald Trump’s executive order which restricts voting by mail threatens to upend their preparations.
The executive order instructs the U.S. Postal Service to refuse to deliver ballots in states that don’t provide lists of voters or meet other requirements. It has created a sense of deep uncertainty and concern among election officials as they consider how to comply, according to a review of court documents and interviews with election officials and experts on election administration.
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