The statement, released by the UCRP on Jan. 1, alleges Gardner falsely told assembled delegates at a Nov. 2, 2024, special election to fill the vacant District 21 Senate seat that she still owned a home in Pleasant Grove. She was subsequently allowed to participate in the election, which was won by Brady Brammer with 62% of the vote after three rounds, or 171 votes.

The UCRP claims Gardner and her husband had instead signed a lease for a home in Lehi on Aug. 14, 2024, and that county records showed her Pleasant Grove home was sold and ownership was transferred on Oct. 9, 2024.

Gardner told the Daily Herald via email Monday that the matter reflected a “factual disagreement” regarding her residency during a “transitional period” and that there was no fraud or intent to deceive. 

She said she believed she was eligible to participate in the special election “based on the facts as she understood them,” and based on advice from the Lieutenant Governor’s Office and the authority of the delegates. 

“I acted in good faith, disclosed my circumstances openly, and deferred to the delegates, who reviewed the facts and voted to seat me prior to the party nomination in November 2024. … The issue was addressed through the proper party process and resolved at the party nomination.” Gardner said. 

Delegate eligibility is established by party rules, and not statewide election law. UCRP said its bylaws state that “you are no longer a delegate for an area when you have moved out of the area.”

The UCRP said a formal complaint was filed by 17 delegates alleging Gardner’s ineligibility and that it conducted more than 20 hours of committee meetings, more than 100 hours of individual evidence gathering, verification of public records, GRAMA requests, witness interviews and an interview with Gardner. 

The party alleges the Gardner family occupied their Lehi residence in August 2024, attended church in their new Lehi ward and “regularly slept and operated from the Lehi home no later than early September 2024.” The censure statement also said she voted in the general election as a resident of Lehi three days after the special election. 

A Nov. 21, 2025, hearing held by the UCRP executive committee presented evidence and allowed Gardner to present her defense. 

The executive committee found Gardner guilty of misrepresentation of her residency in a 17-3 vote. The party expressed “unequivocal disapproval” of the commissioner’s actions and urged her to “take full responsibility for her actions, work to restore the confidence of the party’s membership, and adhere to the principles of transparency and honesty moving forward.”

Gardner, who announced last week she would not seek reelection for the county commission upon the completion of her term at the end of this year, said the executive committee asked her to sign a joint statement to avoid censure but that she declined. 

In a message to the party shared with the Daily Herald, Gardner said, “The proposed language asserts that statements I made during the credential challenge were ‘false’ and that I knowingly participated in an election for which I was ineligible. That characterization is inaccurate and does not reflect my intent, my understanding at the time, or my conduct.”

She told the committee that in hindsight, she acknowledged her explanation during the credential challenge could have been more precise.  

“I regret any lack of clarity that may have caused confusion. I have been willing from the outset to take responsibility for imprecision. What I cannot do is affirm language that implies I knowingly made false statements or acted in bad faith, because that is not true,” she said. 

Gardner told the Daily Herald she thought the timing of the party’s public censure — 14 months after the special election — is “highly suspect.”

“It has been disappointing that significant time and attention continued to be devoted to this issue long after it was resolved, including actions that extended beyond appropriate internal review and unnecessarily involved my family, harassed my neighbors and even went so far as to call my ecclesiastical leaders,” she said. “I remain committed to public service, to Republican principles, and to moving forward constructively. I hope the party will now demonstrate the same discipline, judgment, and focus.”