Utah’s primary elections are just around the corner and most registered partisans have already received their ballot in the mail — but if you haven’t received your ballot yet, there may be a few reasons why.
Utah’s primary elections are set to be held on Tuesday, June 23, and early voting has already begun, both in person and by mail.
“A vast majority of Salt Lake County voters — and frankly, statewide voters — received their ballots on June 2 or that week,” Salt Lake City County Clerk Lannie Chapman said in an interview Thursday.
If you’re a registered voter in Utah and haven’t received a ballot, Chapman said, the likeliest reason would be having no affiliation with a political party.
Republican primaries in Utah are closed, meaning only registered members of the Grand Old Party can receive a primary ballot. Democratic primaries, however, are open, meaning voters affiliated with any political party — or no political party — can vote in the Democrats’ primaries.
Only registered Democrats, however, will automatically receive a mail-in primary ballot.
How to check party affiliation
Utahns who want to vote in the primary but are not affiliated with a party will have to specifically request a primary ballot, and can do so by contacting their county clerk. Salt Lake County voters can do so by calling or emailing Chapman’s office, or by filling out a form electronically on the clerk’s website.
Although the deadline to switch political party affiliations has passed, unaffiliated voters can still affiliate with a party up until the close of polls on election night.
If you have not yet registered to vote, the deadline to do so and receive a mail-in ballot is Friday, June 12, but Utah does have same-day voter registration for those who vote in person on primary day.
Chapman said people who register and request a ballot this week can expect to receive those ballots by the end of next week, and voters who are already registered and want to request a mail-in ballot must do so by Tuesday, June 16.
“We’ve received about 7,000 requests for the Democratic ballot in Salt Lake County alone during this election,” Chapman said. “We should be able to process it, but it does take time.”
The clerk added that voters who have any issue with their ballots — receiving, for example, an incorrect ballot — should contact their county clerk. However, she said, she recommends people first check their voter registration.
“A lot of people know in their heart which party or what side they affiliate with, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that’s the party that they are affiliated with, technically speaking,” Chapman said. “So a great, great rule of thumb is to get online and look up yourself at vote.utah.gov.”
There, voters can check their party affiliation, mailing address and look at a sample ballot for their area.
What’s the deadline to submit a ballot?
As the primary election approaches, Chapman said there’s one other major change to Utah’s election laws she wants voters to be aware of: Previously, mail-in ballots could be counted as long as they were postmarked on election day.
Starting this year, in order for a mail-in ballot to be valid, it needs to be “in hand” and received by the clerk when the polls close at 8 p.m.
“That’s a big change for a vast majority of our voters,” Chapman said.
With 29 drop boxes around Salt Lake County, Chapman said she’s hopeful it will be convenient for people to drop off their ballots.
For those with ballots still in hand past this weekend, the county clerk encourages voters to find their way to a drop box — for peace of mind’s sake.
“That way I can ensure that I have it in my care, custody and control by 8 p.m. on election night,” she said.