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It’s not illegal to get a free rideshare to the ballot box, Utah’s elections office rules

Posted at 4:04 PM, Oct 29, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-29 22:59:22-04

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah State Elections Office has ruled it is not illegal to get a free rideshare to go vote.

Lyft was offering free rides and Uber was offering discounted rides to the ballot box on Election Day to encourage people to vote. But it wasn’t available in Utah.

That’s because questions were raised about whether it may have violated Utah law against bribing voters, according to Justin Lee, the Lt. Governor’s chief of elections. But after reviewing it, Lee told FOX 13, they have informed Uber and Lyft that they can proceed with their Election Day promotion.

Meanwhile, the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah is also responding to another ballot access issue — people who claim the post office won’t deliver a ballot without postage. According to the ACLU, the United States Postal Service will still deliver a ballot even if the postage isn’t paid.