Countdown to Election Day: Utah ballots are trickling in, with turnout at 13% so far

Ballots whiz through a processing machine at the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City as votes are cast in Utah’s primary election on Tuesday, June 25, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)

With 12 days to go until Election Day, state and local election officials are urging Utahns to take advantage of mail-in and early voting — and not wait until the last day to cast their votes. 

A decent chunk of registered voters have already listened to that advice. As of Thursday, 231,032 ballots had been cast by mail and 1,106 in person, according to Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson. That put the statewide turnout at about 13%. 

It’s only been about a week since ballots first began hitting mailboxes, so 13% tracks with past year’ turnout patterns, Shelly Jackson, the state’s deputy director of elections, told Utah News Dispatch on Thursday.

“The start is generally a little slower,” she said, though she expects those numbers to tick higher especially headed into the final week before Nov. 5.

Voter turnout is typically higher during presidential election years, but 2020 saw unusually big returns. That year, amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the contest between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, voter turnout reached record highs across the country. In Utah, turnout hit a record 90% of active registered Utah voters. 

Because 2020 was such an “outlier,” Jackson said she would be surprised if Utah’s voter turnout surpasses that 90% record this year. 

“That was certainly higher than any other presidential year,” she said of 2020’s returns. “I think this year, we can expect something in the 80% (range).”

However, if Utah voters surpass 2020 records, Jackson said she’d “be happy to be wrong.” 

Across the state, county clerks have been urging voters to not wait and cast their ballots sooner rather than later. Shelly said that’s because it will help election workers tally as many ballots as possible so they can be included in election night results. Plus, she said early voting can give voters more time to reconcile any issues with their ballots before Election Day. 

“Getting them in early, it just gives you time. If there’s any issues with the ballot, it allows time to be mailed,” she said. “It allows clerks, if there’s a question on your signature, to have that time to reach out to you and for you to have time to correct or cure that issue.” 

Jackson stressed that verifying and counting ballots is a “very manual labor-intensive process,” so “the earlier you get your ballot in, the more results you’ll see on election night.” 

Utahns have only one more day to register to vote online, with the deadline on Friday. In-person early voting is also an option, however, until Nov. 1. If you’re mailing your ballot, the last day ballots can be postmarked is Nov. 4, but voters can drop their ballots in a drop box or vote in person through 8 p.m. on Election Day. 

Jackson also urged Utahns to take advantage of the state’s online ballot tracking tool, which can track the status of by-mail ballots and alert voters if they run into an issue.  

“That just gives you that confidence to know” whether your ballot has been accepted or not, Jackson said. “I love to get that message. If my clerk says, ‘We’ve received your ballot,’ then I know I don’t have to worry about it. It’s done.”