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A Utah judge closed the State School Board ballot once and for all Friday, denying three candidates' efforts to renew their candidacy.
U.S. District Court Judge Clark Waddoups rejected Davis County resident Heather Gardner's request that she and 40 other school board candidates be added to the ballot for November's election.
"To add even one additional name at this late date would be prejudicial to the Defendants in this action," Waddoups wrote. "Ms. Gardner has simply waited too long to seek the relief she requests."
Gardner's request was filed late Thursday.
Prospects for two other school board hopefuls Juab County resident Garrick Hall and Tooele County resident Russell Bartholomew, who filed a handwritten declaration with the court Friday appear equally grim.
The judge had not yet issued an order on Hall and Bartholomew's requests Friday, but a scheduling clerk with the court said it was unlikely their requests would be treated differently than Gardner's.
Waddoups recently struck down the state's candidate selection process and ordered that three rejected candidates be added to the ballot. His ruling opened up a series of requests from school board hopefuls wanting to be placed on the ballot.
Gardner said she was aware that she could not legally represent candidates other than herself. But she said she included the names of other candidates in her declaration to "make a statement."
She said she has spoken with several rejected candidates who have expressed interest in potentially joining together for a lawsuit to challenge the results of November's election.
"I think we'll just keep fighting until January," she said.
Davis County Elections Manager Brian McKenzie said that Friday was the deadline for ballot preparation under state and federal statute, and many of the county's mail-in ballots had already been sent out.
"One of our concerns at this point would be the confusion of the voters because we have voters who have a ballot in their hands today," he said.
Alan Smith, an attorney for the candidates who initially challenged the state's candidate selection process, said that the "horse has now left the barn" in regards to other individuals hoping to be placed on the ballot.
"It's just a question, really, of timeliness and, unfortunately for these folks, they came in too late," Smith said.