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Utah Co. accidentally mails GOP primary ballots to unaffiliated voters

Posted at 10:51 AM, Jul 28, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-28 12:51:29-04

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah County Clerk accidentally mailed ballots out to thousands of unaffiliated voters in the upcoming Republican primary election for the Third Congressional District seat.

In a statement, the Utah Republican Party said it had been notified about the incident.

“I have received no information to cause me to think this is anything more than an unfortunate error,” Utah GOP Chairman Rob Anderson wrote. “Also, please keep in mind this is the first time Utah County has conducted a Vote by Mail election. I am confident that all those involved in this matter are committed to a fair and open election.”

The campaigns for Republican candidates Tanner Ainge, John Curtis and Chris Herrod had all been notified.

Anderson said the ballots had barcodes on them so he believed it would be easy to separate unaffiliated voters from registered Republicans. The Utah County Clerk has pledged to not count any unaffiliated ballots.

Under the GOP’s primary election rules, only registered Republicans can participate in a Republican primary election.