FARMINGTON, Utah — Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson warned that long lines at in-person voting locations on Election Day could delay the results of many closely watched races.
ELECTION GUIDE - Everything you need to know about voting in Utah on Election Day
"I want every voter to know — everyone in the state needs to know — that we’re not going to release results until everyone in line has finished voting," she said in an interview with FOX 13 News on Monday. "So if we have locations that have really long lines and the polls close at eight o'clock but everybody who’s in line at eight o'clock gets to have a chance to vote. We’re going to make sure they all vote before we start releasing results."
In the era of instant communication, voters could potentially start receiving text messages and news alerts on their phones of initial voting results while still waiting to cast their own ballot.
"We don't want to artificially influence any voter who hasn’t voted yet who still has an opportunity to vote," said Lt. Gov. Henderson, who is Utah's chief elections officer.
Lt. Gov. Henderson said there is a simple solution for many who would like to see results sooner — get your mail-in ballot turned in now.
"We also worry there will be bad weather, long lines that might dissuade people from voting if they do wait. I encourage everyone who knows who they want to vote for and has a ballot in their possession, go ahead and drop that off," she said.
As of Monday morning, voter turnout is about 31%. Davis County Clerk-Auditor Curtis Koch told FOX 13 News they had received a large number of ballots over the weekend that were being processed for Election Night results. He urged people not to wait to vote.
"People have a fast pass in their possession. Everybody’s received a ballot. If they want to vote on Election Day, they can mark that ballot, put it in the envelope and walk and drop," he said. "Drop that ballot in the ballot box we have there and you don’t have to stand in line."
Monday is the deadline for any mail-in ballots to be postmarked. However, people can take that same ballot and drop it in a secure ballot box (Utah law now has them all under video surveillance) until 8pm on Election Night. People who have not yet registered to vote can go to an in-person polling place, register and cast a ballot on Election Day.
With close races, it may be days before results are clearly available as mail-in ballots are tabulated and results are reported. Overall, Lt. Gov. Henderson said few issues have been reported and people surveyed have expressed high confidence in Utah's election systems.
"People in the state of Utah have a lot of confidence in our elections and in our election systems and that confidence has actually gone up this year," she said.
A recent Deseret News and Hinckley Institute of Politics found 89% of Utah voters have confidence in the election system. That's up 8% from earlier this year.
