Voter registration deadlines are close and Summit County Clerk Kent Jones said Nov. 2 will not be your typical midterm Election Day.
“There is a lot of interest, there is no question,” said Jones, a Democrat. “This is a big election with all the county offices, two County Council seats, the state races, the governor’s race and the propositions. There are a lot of things on the ballot to be interested in so I do expect a decent turnout. I wouldn’t call this an off-election year for Utah.”
If you are not registered to vote in Summit County, to vote early you must register by Oct. 4. For voters to be eligible, mail-in registration forms, which are available at summitcounty.org, must be postmarked by Oct. 4.
Early voting begins Oct. 19 in Coalville, Kamas, Park City and the Snyderville Basin.
“Early voting and absentee voting are getting more and more important,” said Glenn Wright, chairman of the Summit County Democratic Party. “People are getting busier and busier and the easier you make it for people the better.”
The period for early voting ends Oct. 29.
“It gives you several opportunities to vote, rather than just one chance and you’re done,” Jones said.
Utah residents who haven’t registered to vote have until Oct. 18 to file the paperwork in person if they would like to participate in the Nov. 2 election. October 4 is the deadline to register by mail.
Those who need to register in person can do so at the Summit County Clerk’s Office, 60 N. Main Street in Coalville.
“To mail in voter registration it needs to be 30 days out,” Jones said. “Otherwise you can still register to vote in person in our office for two more weeks.”
The 30-day deadline is Oct. 4 because Oct. 2 is a Saturday.
People who recently moved to Summit County from out of state must be residents of the area for at least 30 days to vote this year, Jones explained.
“If you’ve just moved and you moved here the middle of October it may be that you have already missed the 30-day residency requirement,” Jones said.
According to Wright, the Summit County Democratic Party was actively registering voters throughout the summer.
“Especially in July and early August we had a fair number of new residents come in. I think they were moving in before school started. So we had a pretty good surge in new voter registration at that time,” Wright said. “If you want to change how this state operates, now is the time to do something about it. If you like the way things are, then stay home on your couch. But if you think we have to change the way this state is governed, then this is the time to make some changes.”
The governor’s race pitting incumbent Republican Gary Herbert against Democrat Peter Corroon is attracting lots of attention in Summit County.
“The governor’s race is very hot,” Wright said. “I think there is also a fair amount of interest here in Summit County in the U.S. Senate race.”
Among the candidates vying to replace outgoing Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, are Republican Mike Lee and Democrat Sam Granato.
Meanwhile, local GOP leaders say Republicans are also registering large numbers of new voters in Summit County.
“I think we have done a good job of registering voters in Summit County,” Summit County Republican Party Chairman Henry Glasheen said in an e-mail to The Park Record.
The ballots for the Nov. 2 election are being printed in anticipation of early voting beginning in the next few weeks.
“We’re hoping to have our ballots back from the printer this week and we’ll get all the absentee requests out by the end of the week,” Jones said.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 29. Absentee ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 1 to qualify.
“The intent of an absentee ballot is to provide an opportunity for people to be able to vote who cannot vote on Election Day,” Jones said.