PROVO — A former two-term Utah County commissioner who was arrested twice while in office for allegedly driving while intoxicated may not be seeking a return to the commission after all.

Officials said that due to an oversight on the part of the Utah County elections office, David J. Gardner's candidacy is in limbo until 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Gardner, who served on the commission from 1994-2002, filed for the seat currently occupied by Steve White. He filed as an unaffiliated candidate but did not present the signatures required to do so, said Sandy Hoffmann, Utah County elections coordinator.

State election law requires unaffiliated candidates to collect the signatures of 300 registered voters and submit that petition when filing for office, Hoffmann said.

However, the county elections office failed to notice the error before forwarding the information to the lieutenant governor's office, she said. When they learned of the mistake, county officials were unable to reach Gardner before the 5 p.m. Friday deadline.

After seeking counsel from attorneys Monday, Hoffmann and Utah County Clerk/Auditor Kim Jackson agreed to give Gardner a 48-hour window to collect the required signatures.

Gardner previously ran as a Republican.

Cal Harper of Orem made a similar mistake Friday when filing as an Independent American candidate for the state House seat in District 60. Independent American is not recognized by the state as a political party, Hoffmann said, but the election office processed the application anyway.

Harper also was given 48 hours to collect the 300 signatures and run as an unaffiliated candidate, but he declined the offer and withdrew his application.

Hoffmann said Gardner did not say Monday whether he planned to try to obtain the signatures or withdraw.

"I probably won't know until Wednesday at 4 o'clock," she said.

Calls to Gardner were not immediately returned.

Bill Ellis, Orem, and Shirrel Robinson Young, Thistle, are challenging White for the Republican nomination for the county commission seat. Democrat Joseph Brierley, Spanish Fork, also filed for the office.

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