SALT LAKE CITY — Ballots are arriving in mailboxes across the state ahead of the June 25 primary election.
"If they haven’t gotten a ballot? They should check their voter registration, make sure they’re registered, their address is correct," said Lt. Governor Deidre Henderson, the state's top elections officer.
Voters can find out more information at vote.utah.gov.
The Republican primary election is a closed primary, meaning only registered Republicans can vote in it. Unaffiliated voters (meaning those who belong to no political party) can still register as Republicans to vote in the primary. However, it is too late for someone to switch parties. The Democratic primary is open, meaning one does not need to be a registered Democrat to vote in it.
"You can only vote in one primary," Lt. Gov. Henderson said, addressing a commonly asked question about the primaries. "Democrats have an open primary, but you can’t have a Republican voting in a Democratic primary, for example, and a Republican primary. You can only vote in one."
The Salt Lake County Clerk's Office said it has already begun to process what has been turned in already. With both Republican and Democratic primaries in Utah's most populous county, Lannie Chapman said she expected it will be busy.
"It's about 390,000 eligible voters that are either affiliated with the Republican party, the Democrat party or have requested a Democrat ballot," she said.
For Salt Lake County voters, there is something new this year. A special security sleeve that voters could place their ballots in has been removed. But Chapman said ballots remain secure.
"The security tint we have on the inside of the return envelope does the same thing," she said, demonstrating how it works to FOX 13 News.
The special printing inside the return envelope blocks anyone from being able to hold it up to the light and see how someone voted. Chapman said the change will save them time counting votes and taxpayers money. Salt Lake County is the last county in Utah to still use special security sleeves. Other counties abandoned them years ago.
"I'm able to process ballots a lot quicker," Chapman said. "That means Election Night, results come in a little quicker because those couple seconds that would take us to move that security sleeve no longer are in play. And frankly, it saves us about five cents per ballot packet."
Lt. Gov. Henderson said the state is offering a way for people to track their ballot throughout the process. They can sign up at ballottrax.utah.gov and get notifications.
"You can sign up to get text messages so you’ll know when your clerk has sent you your ballot, you know when your ballot has been received by the clerk," she said.
One thing seen by Sen. Mike McKell, R-Spanish Fork, when he filled out his ballot? A request for postage. People don't have to pay for a stamp, state elections officials have said, because the postal service will deliver it anyway and bill the county for the cost of the stamp.
"Just a reminder in Utah County, if you forget to put a stamp on your ballot, it will still be delivered. This instructional piece is mostly political from the Utah County Clerk. Postage is NOT required," he wrote on Threads.
Post by @mike.mckell View on Threads
