Candidates back voter ID and targeted AI child-protection law, oppose internet voting and mass surveillance

At the Utah County Republican Party forum, both candidates defended requiring ID to protect elections, rejected internet-based voting as too risky, and urged caution about mass public surveillance while endorsing targeted protections for law enforcement transparency.

On voter ID, one candidate said Connecticut-style analogies were imperfect but argued Utah’s existing requirement to show ID when registering supports election integrity; the other said, "We should show it, it's a no-brainer." Both opposed broad adoption of internet voting.

On AI, one candidate described sponsoring legislation aimed at preventing AI-generated sexual images of children and said targeted rules are necessary: "I passed the first bill in America that said when you use images when you create AI images of children that is illegal," she said.

Both candidates called for protections that balanced child safety, civil liberties and technical feasibility; they urged careful drafting to avoid unintended civil-rights consequences from parental ID proposals or sweeping surveillance measures.

No new legislation was introduced at the forum; candidates emphasized prior bills they supported or sponsored as models for future state policy.