OGDEN, Utah — The primary election in Utah is just a few days away, and with an open mayor seat in Ogden and seven candidates vying to be in the top two, FOX 13 News wanted to see how many people have returned their ballots so far.
“It started out quite slow, but it’s picked up a little bit this week and we hope it’s really swift next week as well,” explained Ricky Hatch, the Weber County clerk and auditor.
Hatch said the turnout so far is on track for what they expected.
“Municipal primaries are always kind of low turnouts. With it being by mail, it’s a lot higher. In the past, before it was by mail, we anticipated single digits. Now we’re looking to about 30-35%," he said.
In Ogden, there are seven candidates running for the open mayoral seat. The top two from the primary go to the general election in November. According to Weber County Elections, out of about 33,037 ballots sent out in Ogden city, 4,876 have been returned so far. That’s about 15 percent.
“Usually your open seat and your mayoral races will garner a few more voters to come out. Oddly enough, we haven’t seen that in Ogden. Ogden is on par with the rest of the county as far as turnout. I suspect they might pull ahead in the final days,” added Hatch.
Looking at ballots returned county-wide so far, Hooper is the highest with 16 percent. Ogden and North Ogden are both at 15 percent, and Roy is at 13 percent. So far, in total, 14 percent of ballots sent out have been returned in Weber County.
And even though it’s a primary, these elections are important.
“These local races are far more important than many of the national races that we talk about, but they get the least amount of attention, " Hatch said. "These are the races that impact your daily life, your sidewalks and your curbs and your businesses. Make your voice heard and vote informed."
Election officials encourage everyone who can to come out and vote. You can either drop your ballot at a secure ballot drop box by 8 p.m. on Sep. 5, which is election day, or have your ballot put in the mail postmarked by election day. There are also different in-person voting options at the Weber Center. More options for voters statewide can be found at vote.utah.gov.
