SALT LAKE CITY — More than 1.6 million ballots will be mailed out across Utah beginning this week for the Nov. 3 election.
The election will be the largest with all 29 counties sending out mail-in ballots for the first time on Tuesday.
Alpine retiree Jim Robison is looking forward to filling out his ballot in his home.
“I can’t wait until they get here,” he said.
The ballot could be in his mailbox as early as Tuesday.
Justin Lee, the director of elections in the Utah Lieutenant Governor's office, said Utah’s successful vote-by-mail system goes back to 2012.
“We have been doing this for so many years. This isn’t new for us here in Utah. We worked out the speed bumps. We’ve worked out the kinks over the years,” said Lee.
Once ballots are filled out, Lee encourages voters to drop them off at a designated location or in the mail as soon as possible. That way, any validation questions about signatures can be addressed before Election Day.
While most mail-in ballots will be processed ahead of time, they won’t be counted until the polls open on Nov. 3.
“There has just been so much discussion this year about vote-by-mail and 'Are there problems with it? Are there not problems with it?' We don’t really have those problems here in Utah. Once they get those ballots, I think they will be comforted they can finally do something about this election,” said Lee.
Here are some important dates to remember:
- Voter registration cutoff is Oct. 23.
- If you mail a ballot, it must be post marked on or before Nov. 2.
- Ballots can be dropped off at a polling location or designated drop box up until 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3.
While available to anyone on the day of the election, in-person voting is encouraged for only those in special circumstances this year, according to Lee. He said it will be most useful for or people who didn’t receive a ballot or have special ADA disabilities.
Utahns can register to vote, check registration, find a ballot drop-off location or polling location and more at vote.utah.gov.