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Close races expected on Election Day

Posted at 4:03 PM, Nov 02, 2015
and last updated 2015-11-02 20:12:11-05

SALT LAKE CITY -- In the final hours of Election 2015, candidates were out making their final push to persuade voters.

At his campaign offices in Trolley Square, Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker was making phone calls to still-undecided voters, answering questions and convincing them to give him a third term.

"There's still a surprising number of undecided voters and people who haven't voted," Becker told FOX 13.

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker (center) and campaign workers make phone calls the day before Election Day. (Photo via Ben Winslow)

Salt Lake City Mayor Ralph Becker (center) and campaign workers make phone calls the day before Election Day. (Photo via Ben Winslow)

Across the city, Jackie Biskupski lunched at Granato's with supporters, shaking hands and answering questions from people having lunch.

"So much of the conversation is, 'What do you care about? Let's talk about that,'" she said of her approach to engaging prospective voters.

The race between Becker and Biskupski is going to be close, with one recent poll putting it at a virtual tie. The two candidates have debated and campaigned for months, outlining their visions for Utah's Capitol City over the next four years. The two have also traded jabs, with Becker criticizing Biskupki and a billboard PAC 's involvement in the race, and her countering with the massive campaign fundraising and spending he's done in his effort to get re-elected.

But on Monday, they were focusing on doing what they could to convince voters to cast their ballots. Biskupski said she was giving the voters a "viable option and listening."

"What they've been sharing with me all along has not left me and that dialogue will continue after this race is over," Biskupksi said. "We will affect change."

Salt Lake City Mayoral Candidate Jackie Biskupski (center) meets with people at Granato's Deli in Salt Lake City the day before Election Day. (Photo via Ben Winslow)

Salt Lake City Mayoral Candidate Jackie Biskupski (center) meets with people at Granato's Deli in Salt Lake City the day before Election Day. (Photo via Ben Winslow)

Becker said he was asking voters to let him finish the job he started eight years ago.

"If there's one thing I probably emphasize with voters that I talk to, is I have both a proven track-record in this job and we've had incredible momentum in the city," he said.

The Salt Lake City Recorder's Office said that as of Friday, it had received about 35-percent of the mail-in ballots. The vote-by-mail ballots must be postmarked Monday in order to count, or they could be hand-delivered to the recorder's office or county clerk's office by 8 p.m. Tuesday.

RELATED: Find your polling place on Election Day here

Beyond the Salt Lake City Mayor's race, residents would decide three city council spots. Across the state, municipal elections were planned for city council and mayor's offices.

Other big ballot issues across Utah include the incorporation vote in Salt Lake County. Voters in Kearns, Magna, Emigration Canyon, Millcreek, White City and Copperton will decide if they want to become their own city, town or township or be annexed into a nearby city.

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In 17 counties, voters will be asked to decide Proposition One, a tax for transit and road needs. Supporters said it will fund critical infrastructure needs in the coming years, critics blasted the amount of money that UTA would get.

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In Davis County, voters will decide a nearly $300 million bond for more schools.