SALT LAKE COUNTY — Ballots are in the mail and will arrive shortly at the homes of Utah registered voters.
In the meantime, Salt Lake County elections workers are making sure the upcoming Nov. 8 general election is secure.
“It is so secure,” Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen told FOX 13 News. “We've done it for many years. People love the vote-by-mail system. Ninety-percent-plus use the vote by mail systems, and I think it is phenomenal.”
Things like verifying each signature, giving each ballot an individual voter ID, and fielding any concerns and calls from the public are some of the things employees are doing to protect the election process.
Simon Blue is one of the workers answering phones.
“I served in the military for a while," he said. "You want to feel like you're serving, like you're doing something worthwhile.”
On Tuesday, he was answering calls at the county clerk's office and reassuring concerned voters about election security.
“I don't always know that they are reassured," Blue laughed, "but we just do the best we can to answer every question and spend as much time on the phone with them as they need.”
His job is an important one when it comes to issues of election security.
"I have to give all of the credit to the county clerks. They have been doing an incredible job this year to try to make sure that the public knows their doors are open,” Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson said Tuesday as the ballots across the state went out.
The lieutenant governor oversees election security in Utah — a system that's served as a model.
“I have heard from our elections team and from the former lieutenant governor — who is now the governor — that we had calls from all over the country to our state in 2020, asking us how we did it, what we do, how can we help other states.”
A poll released Tuesday by the Deseret News and Hinckley Institute of Politics today shows 89 percent were either confident or very confident in the state’s ability to conduct a fair and accurate election, with only 4 percent saying they weren’t confident at all.
Utahns have until Oct. 28 to register to vote if they want to get a ballot mailed to them. However, voter registration is also available in-person on election day. More information can be found at vote.utah.gov.
