TOOELE, Utah — The ballot box is open for Utah voters in the primary elections.
One race that’s caught attention is the special Republican primary to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Chris Stewart. The three candidates vying for the seat are Celeste Maloy, Becky Edwards and Bruce Hough, with the winner advancing to the General Election in November.
Any registered Republicans living within Utah’s 2nd Congressional District are able to vote for their top pick.
In Ogden, voters will be selecting a mayor to replace Mike Caldwell. The two candidates receiving the most votes Tuesday will also face off in November.
Several other cities across the state like Grantsville and Erda are also holding primary races of their own on Tuesday to narrow down the field of candidates running for mayor and city council positions.
READ: Turnout positive ahead of Ogden mayor's race
“We’d love to have everyone participating because these are super important elections,” said Shaw.
Shaw said if you haven’t registered to vote, there’s still time.
“Same-day registration is very much the possibility for voters that have never participated before,” Shaw explained. “Anyone can show up at a polling location. They just need to bring a voter ID, they need to have proof of residency, and that's usually pretty easy to provide. Most people have that on their phones and don't even realize that they could pull up something like a utility bill or a bank statement that just has their name and an address on it.”
This year, there’s a bit of extra time to mail in ballots as well.
“Because it's a federal holiday, the legislature as part of their special session did extend that date, specifically for this election. So voters can return their ballots and have them postmarked on September 5th on election day for this election,” said Shaw.
Shaw said if someone is 17 years old but turns 18 before Election Day in November, they can vote too.
“We just really want everyone to engage in the process, to get to know their candidates, make an educated vote, and take part in their process that so many have fought so hard to secure for us,” said Shaw.
For more information on how to vote by mail-in ballot or in person, visit vote.utah.gov.
