KEY POINTS
  • Utahns can register to vote at the polls on Election Day and cast a provisional ballot
  • Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by Monday
  • Tuesday's election results won't be released until after the last Utahn in line when polls close at 8 p.m. has voted

Not registered to vote? In Utah, you can sign up at the polls on Election Day and cast a provisional ballot.

Already a Utah voter but haven’t mailed back your ballot? You need to be aware that ballots must be postmarked no later than Monday to be counted. Because there’s no guarantee that ballots dropped off in a mailbox Monday will make that deadline, election officials advise those who want to use the mail to go to a post office and ask for a their ballots to be postmarked at the counter.

Better yet at this point, voters can take their completed ballots to a drop box or, on Election Day, to a polling place that will be open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. A list of where drop boxes and polling places are located is available through vote.utah.gov or from county clerks.

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And for Utahns who want to cast their votes in person, early voting ended Friday in many places, but polling places on Tuesday are expected to be busy. As of Monday, a total of 828,976 Utahns have already voted, according to Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, whose office oversees elections.

Henderson issued a warning Monday that long lines at polling locations could delay election night results. She said the first round of results, usually released as soon as the polls close at 8 p.m., won’t be released until the last voter still in line in the state at that time has had an opportunity to vote.

“County clerks have been instructed not to publish results until every Utahn waiting in line when the polls close has had a chance to vote,” Henderson said. “We will keep everyone updated if there are any delays and ask for patience as our county officials administer the election.“

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The lieutenant governor also urged “those who have not done so to please return your ballots as soon as possible. The sooner you vote, the more robust our initial results will be.”

Election results will be posted on electionresults.utah.gov.

Some voter registration deadlines have passed, but Utahns who missed the chance to sign up online or in person to vote have been able since 2018 to show up at the polls on Election Day and register to cast a provisional ballot. Utah is one of 20 states that allow for Election Day registration, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

“If you’re not registered to vote, it is not too late,” Ryan Cowley, Utah’s state director of elections, said in a statement. “Voters may register on Election Day by filing out a form and casting a provisional ballot. Voters will need a valid ID and proof of residency to vote provisionally. Check vote.utah.gov for more information and locations.”

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