SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Republican Party chose to hold a caucus for the "Super Tuesday" primary instead of an ordinary election.
Voters had to go to neighborhood caucus meetings, and in some instances, there was chaos and confusion.
At Brighton High School in Cottonwood Heights, the meeting was supposed to start at 7 p.m.
But the phone registration process to get the ballot became a fiasco — so much so that members of the party were yelling back at the chairman.
There was nothing distinguishing the volunteers from normal voters — not even a lanyard or neon vest.
"When you’re 59 and you didn’t grow up with this stuff, this technology, and you’re not ready for it — and I would say most of these people are over the age of 60 and some of them don’t have phones," Lynn Parker said. "Nobody’s here to tell them how to do it. There’s a young lady who was sitting here who out of the goodness of her heart came over and said, ‘Try this different website,’ So I did, and I’m still getting kicked out. So I’m probably going to have to go home."
The GOP spent $100,000 on advertising for the caucus. They also spent $60,000 on the pre-registration system.
However, the party's chairman was still optimistic about the turnout.
"I believe that the American public and the Utah citizenry here in our state are smart enough to get involved," Chairman Robert Axson said. "We appreciate the patience and I can appreciate, too, being confused on a moment, but we’ll try to get those questions answered. But ultimately the engagement you can get at the precinct level is incredibly valuable; it’s worthwhile."
The Utah GOP said they went with the caucus route to promote community engagement and save taxpayers money from administering an election.
As late as 10:30 p.m., two-and-a-half hours after polls closed, there were no tabulated results yet available from the caucus.
Meanwhile, Democrats had a traditional primary election. Polls opened at 7 a.m., and every registered Democrat received a ballot in the mail to vote for their preferred candidate for President of the United States.
Incumbent President Joe Biden won all 34 of Utah's Democratic delegates, with a landslide victory of 88% so far in the count. The race was called by Decision Desk HQ and the Associated Press within just minutes of the polls closing.
