The potential for “record-breaking” voter turnout in Utah this fall highlights both the electricity national campaigns have generated and the urgent need to accurately and swiftly tabulate election results. Fortunately, Utahns are in a good place.
The state’s mail-in election system, which is nearing a decade of operation, is secure. Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen told the Deseret News Tuesday that anyone hoping to tamper with ballots would need to replicate the correct weight of paper and the marks around the card in addition to somehow recreating the barcode that matches each voter with a single ballot. Voter signatures also get checked against signatures stored in a database.
In a recent interview with The Atlantic, Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox said, “We have seen very, very little fraud, and virtually no intentional fraud,” adding, “I can also say some of those concerns (nationally) are valid, and if we had to set this up in a matter of a few weeks, that would be very difficult. ... That’s why we were so cautious in the way we rolled it out.”
That caution has paid off. But that doesn’t mean Utahns should sit on their ballots when they come.
The first wave of mail-in ballots shipped on Tuesday, and more than 1.6 million are expected to hit mailboxes around the state. The quicker Utahns fill out and return them, either by mailing them through the Postal Service or delivering them to secure drop-off boxes, the better, state officials urged on Monday.
The goal is to reduce long lines on Election Day and reserve in-person voting for those who need it. The more ballots county offices receive before Nov. 3, the more accurate results will be on election night.
That may not temper much the national fervor over the race for the White House and the predictions by some that a protracted count could lead to a battle of legitimacy, but in local races that could be decided by a handful of votes, it means a lot.
Which evinces another reason to promptly study and return your ballot: It’s a long one this year. Depending on where voters live, they could face a dozen or more races that need their attention. City council seats, school board members, county officials and judgeships are all on the table. Utah County voters will decide if they want to elect a county mayor council. The whole state has a chance to adopt or reject seven constitutional amendments.
Altering the state’s guiding document isn’t a cavalier undertaking. Although some propositions, like Amendment A, are small style adjustments, others, like Amendment G, which would release the income tax from being earmarked for public education, could have long-term ramifications on budgets and tax structures. Voters must be engaged in the details and do their homework.
Voters may still register to vote until 5 pm on Oct. 23 by visiting vote.utah.gov or contacting their county clerk’s office.