While turnout numbers for the Republican and Democratic primary elections appeared to be underwhelming early Tuesday, election watchers expect to see a good turnout to cap off a robust primary election season across the state.
The Utah Republican Primary is underway, with mail-in ballots and in person-votes being processed throughout the day to produce preliminary results Tuesday night. The last day to postmark mail-in ballots was Monday, but voters can still drop their ballots off in designated drop-boxes and visit their local polling center to cast their ballot in person.
To vote in-person, you must be in line by 8 p.m. to have your vote counted. Ballots must be place in drop-boxes before 8 p.m.
How is polling in Salt Lake County looking?
While polling centers like the one in the Salt Lake County Government Building tend to be busy on election day, Annabel Garcia, the poll center lead, told the Deseret News that as of midday Tuesday crowds had been slow to come in. There were no lines out the door, and at any given time at least a worker or two were not engaged with helping voters.
Usually, Garcia expects to see a sizable turnout of people coming into the center to vote, many of whom need to register to vote for the first time. But by midday, Garcia was a touch surprised by the turnout, though she remarked there would likely be more voters arriving in the after-work hours.
Having worked for many years in polling, a good portion of which at this center, Garcia said she’s accustomed to the chaos and variety of Election Day, though she expressed surprise at one major factor bringing people into the polling center Tuesday: people not receiving their ballots in the mail.
“Unaffiliated ballots weren’t sent out,” she explained. In other words, people who aren’t registered as Republicans, Democrats or other parties didn’t receive ballots in the mail. Due to the nature of closed Republican primaries — meaning only Republicans can vote in GOP primaries — people who don’t register their affiliation or switch their affiliation, by a certain date, will not be mailed a ballot.
Many of these people, though, show up to polling centers confused and intent on voting, especially if they had switched their affiliation on time. The experience at the center is largely a pleasant one, election officials and voters said.
One voter, Paul, who did not want to share his last name, said he’d voted many times by mail and only showed up to vote in person because he is an unaffiliated voter who did not get a ballot in the mail. He was able to vote in person and said it was a good experience overall.
Andy Goss, provisional ballot specialist at the center, echoed Garcia’s observations, and added that the provisional voter count is unusually low.
Provisional voters are those whose identification could not be verified immediately at the polling center, but who are still allowed to cast their vote and fill out their voter registration. They must show their I.D. within a certain time frame and the county must then verify their identity before their vote can be counted.
Goss said that he’d been told in advance to prepare for “long lines of provisional voters today.” By noon, he’d only processed four provisional ballots. He said he thinks this change could be because more people have learned to register early.
How are votes being processed on Election day?
Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman said ballot processing is underway in Salt Lake County. Votes are already being counted for voters who showed up early and those who mailed in their ballots.
As of Monday night, about 26% of mail-in ballots that had been sent to voters had been processed. By noon on Tuesday, 10,000 ballots from post offices and ballot boxes had been processed. Total voter participation from mail-in ballots and in-person voting was 27% by Monday night, Chapman said, with less than 1% of votes being cast in-person. That percentage is expected to jump with election day participation.
Mail-in ballots, Chapman said, are the main way people cast their vote, with about 90% of votes coming from mail-in ballots each cycle beginning in 2012. In recent years, though, that number has increased slightly, with about 95% of votes coming from mail-in ballots.
This primary is unusual because the ballot is longer than in recent years, Chapman said. With local, state and federal races on the ballot and few candidate withdrawals, people have needed to “sit down ... and really make sure we’re voting for whoever aligns best with our values” and not based on name or party affiliation, she said.
Ultimately, Chapman said she sees this as a good thing because it produces a “much more educated voter.”
According to state turnout results, Cache County has had about 26% of ballots returned, while Davis County sits at 30.9% and Utah Country trails behind at 16.6%. Statewide turnout results can be found at vote.utah.gov.
Results will start to roll out after polls close at 8 p.m., and will include all processed ballots at that point. One to two more updates will be sent out Tuesday night after the initial one, and ballot processing will continue on Wednesday. Election results can be viewed here once they come in.