SALT LAKE CITY — The polls are open and several Utahns are casting ballots, participating in Super Tuesday for the first time.
As voters trickled into the Salt Lake County Government Center, some with youngsters in tow, County Clerk Sherrie Swensen acknowledged some who voted ahead of Tuesday may be disappointed.
Former Democratic presidential hopefuls Tom Steyer, Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar recently dropped out. But Utahns who favored those candidates won’t be permitted to cast a new vote.
“We’ve had a lot of people asking if they can do a vote-over, revote,” Swensen said. “That’s not allowed by state law.
“I feel badly for the people that have cast a vote and now it’s not going to count.”
Swenson noted the Democratic primary is open to anyone, but only registered Republicans are allowed to participate in the GOP contest. An unaffiliated voter can, however, affiliate as a Republican at the polls on Tuesday and then vote.
As of about a week ago, many Utah Republicans — about 3,500 — had requested Democratic ballots, according to the lieutenant governor’s office, which oversees state elections.
On Monday, Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox sought to assure voters the state’s ballot boxes are secure from outside interference, in part due to cybersecurity help from the FBI and other agencies. He also said Utahns should not allow fears about coronavirus to keep them away from the polls, noting state officials are monitoring the risk.
The polls opened 7 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. for in-person voting. While the deadline to postmark a mail-in ballot has passed, voters can place those ballots to drop boxes up until 8 p.m.
Additional information is available at vote.utah.gov.
