The Cedar Hills 17th Ward is back at it with more controversy. For Halloween, they held a chili cook-off. In accordance with safety precautions, members lined up in the church parking lot with their pots and gave ward members bowls as they drove through. Those who participated were given the opportunity to vote as they left the parking lot or vote on the ward’s Facebook page when they got home.

After all the votes were tallied, it was announced that Joseph Burton had made the most popular chili, with Bishop Donald Johnson coming in second, and Jodie Jacobsen a distant third. Bishop Johnson has been outraged ever since. He had won more votes by people who voted immediately in the parking lot, but Burton won an overwhelming majority of the votes in the Facebook poll afterward. Johnson continues to say that the election was rigged so that he would lose. He claims that people used burner accounts and the accounts of dead relatives to vote for Burton. The secretaries of the Relief Society and E:ders Quorum have both verified that this is not the case.

Members have noted that in the last three fast and testimony meetings Bishop Johnson has hinted that he thought the upcoming chili cook-off would be rigged. He said multiple times that Halle Clay could not handle the fact that he beat here last year and she would do anything to stop him this year.

Bishop Johnson has reported the “polling error” to Facebook, but after looking at the data they refused to take the request any further.