Ricky Hatch is the county clerk and auditor of Weber County, Utah. After the 2020 election, Hatch dismissed former President Donald Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud and compared those who promote such claims with believers in the flat earth conspiracy theory. He is a member of a working group for the United States Election Assistance Commission.

Background

Ricky Hatch was born in Sandy, Utah, a suburb of Salt Lake City, and attended Alta High School, the local public high school. He is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and conducted missionary work for the church in France, Luxembourg, and Belgium. He lives in Ogden, Utah, with his wife Tiffany Hatch, with whom he has five children. ¹ He also has three grandchildren. ²

Career

Hatch attended Brigham Young University from 1985 through 1993, when he graduated with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting and was a member of the Beta Alpha Psi accounting and finance honorary. ³ Hatch also acquired certifications as a Certified Public Accountant, a Certified Public Official, and a Certified Information Systems Auditor. ⁴

After graduating from college, Hatch worked as an information and systems auditor for seven years for Price Waterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCoopers or PwC), one of the four largest accounting firms in the world, working for the company in Los Angeles and Warsaw. He then worked for Parametric Technology Corporation, living in Munich and Boston. Hatch returned to Utah in 2005 while working as a financial analyst for Jetway Systems. ⁵ During his employment at Jetway, Hatch also worked as a financial analyst for FMC Technologies, an oil and gas firm. ⁶

Hatch’s campaign identifies him as the founder of an unnamed K-12 private school in 2002, and as the COO and CFO of a chain of such schools. These schools and the years in which he operated them could not be identified. ⁷

Political Activity

Hatch is a Republican who campaigns as a fiscal conservative. ⁸ After the 2020 elections, Hatch dismissed then-President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud, and compared his supporters who promote such claims to believers in the flat earth conspiracy theory. ⁹

Hatch is also affiliated with various left-leaning national groups. He is a member of a working group for the United States Election Assistance Commission. ¹⁰ In addition, Hatch is a frequent presenter for the National Association of Counties and is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Center for Tech and Civic Life. ¹¹ Hatch is also a member of the advisory board for the Election Official Legal Defense Network. ¹²

Hatch worked in a variety of local offices and Republican Party leadership in Utah, including spending six years on the Planning Commission of the city of Farr West in Weber County. In 2010, he was elected Clerk/Auditor for Weber County, and continues to serve in that role as of early 2023. ¹³

Hatch is a member of nearly a dozen committees and organizations, local and national, including as chair of County Utah Clerk’s Legislative Policy Committee, treasurer and secretary of the Utah County Clerk and Auditor Association, and an executive board member of the Ogden-Weber Chamber of Commerce. ¹⁴

1. “About Clerk Auditor.” Weber County Utah. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://www.webercountyutah.gov/Clerk_Auditor/about.php
2. “About Ricky.” Ricky Hatch for Weber County Clerk/Auditor. Accessed January 26, 2023.  http://rickyhatch.com/about-ricky/
3. “Ricky Hatch.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricky-hatch-5352885/
4. “Ricky Hatch.” Committee for Safe and Secure Elections. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://safeelections.org/ricky-hatch
5. “About Clerk Auditor.” Weber County Utah. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://www.webercountyutah.gov/Clerk_Auditor/about.php
6. “Ricky Hatch.” LinkedIn. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://www.linkedin.com/in/ricky-hatch-5352885/
7. “About Ricky.” Ricky Hatch for Weber County Clerk/Auditor. Accessed January 26, 2023.  http://rickyhatch.com/about-ricky/
8. “Saving Taxpayer Dollars.” Ricky Hatch for Weber County Clerk/Auditor. Accessed January 26, 2023. http://rickyhatch.com/saving-taxpayer-dollars/
9. Lee Benson. “This Year, the Election is in the Spotlight.” Deseret News. November 6, 2022. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://www.deseret.com/utah/2022/11/6/23421304/election-security-in-utah-weber-county
10. “About Clerk Auditor.” Weber County Utah. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://www.webercountyutah.gov/Clerk_Auditor/about.php
11. “Hon. Ricky Hatch.” National Association of Counties. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://www.naco.org/people/hon-ricky-hatch
12. “About Us.” Election Officials Legal Defense Network. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://eoldn.org/about/
13. “About Clerk Auditor.” Weber County Utah. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://www.webercountyutah.gov/Clerk_Auditor/about.php
14. “About Clerk Auditor.” Weber County Utah. Accessed January 26, 2023. https://www.webercountyutah.gov/Clerk_Auditor/about.php