When Midway City put a $5 million open space bond on their 2018 election ballot, the question wasn’t whether the community wanted to conserve open lands, agricultural properties and the like.

The general question was this: How far can $5 million actually go? 

Further than you’d think.

Brad Winegar, Preserve Midway board member, said that, with efforts from that nonprofit, Midway City and Utah Open Lands, that $5 million bond was put on the ballot in 2018 to make strides toward preserving as much open space as possible. With a community wary of developments popping up in and around Midway, the concept of more land protection and conservation easements was a welcome one. 

The cost for open space boils down to about $8.23. That’s the increase in resident taxes per $100,000 for a primary residence. Double that, approximately, for those with a second home or commercial property.

That’s a cost the Midway community was willing to pay. In 2018, the bond was voted in with 54% in favor. 

And, with that $5 million bond, hundreds of acres of conservation easements followed over the next five years. 

“The leveraging we’ve seen has been unbelievable,” Midway City Planner Katie Villani said. 

With a ratio of 7:1, the bond was stretched to buy more than 400 acres of conservation easements. Plus, acreage from donors like Kem Garner, who freely gifted his 100-plus-acre property.

In this election year, Midway voted to do it all again. 

“A new open space bond would help save even more,” a Preserve Midway Instagram post said ahead of the Nov. 5 vote. “There is more land to save forever and a new open space bond would be needed to make this happen again.” 

Once the ballots were counted, the 2024 bond passed with a 3-to-1 margin.

“I think it confirms what every survey says and every time we’ve gotten feedback from the public. One of the things that has been prioritized the most are trails and open spaces,” Villani said. “And just the importance to the community of keeping the feel of Midway, which has always been what they find makes it special.” 

Midway, according to Villani, is historically agricultural, rural with a European sensibility, and a generally small town. 

“Somehow it kept its small feel despite having a resort mix,” Villani said. “And we’ve got development that people feel is threatening to take that away. So I think there’s this push and pull to try and preserve that feel as much as possible. Not only for the people who live here, but also for those who are coming in.” 

Villani said that a main concern in the community is if longstanding properties and residents with Midway history going back generations get priced out of Midway’s housing and cost-of-living because of new developments popping up in the area. 

“We’re willing to put money toward helping people who have been here for a long time to be able to stay here,” Villani said. 

By preserving these hundreds of acres and more, Villani said that they preserve the history of Midway. Once they’re gone, she said, they’re gone forever. 

Prosperous preservation over 5 years

Of the 400-plus acres secured with the 2018 open space bond, approximately 182 acres have been finalized. These conservation easements, including all 102 acres of the Kohler Dairy property and what’s described as “a gem” by Preserve Midway: Mountain Spa. 

At Mountain Spa, what could have been a housing development with more than 60 homes is now designated as a passive public park. It’s what Villani describes as hybrid preservation. Some of the land is dedicated solely to untouched open space. Some is designed to benefit the public with a local trail system. 

That kind of hybrid conservation, Villani said, is another tool for saving pieces of open land that the public is in favor of. 

“That was really thinking outside the box because that was using both county and city open space funds toward a project that included some development but also preserved about 48 acres of some very important viewsheds.” 

Having a local buy-in also benefited the leveraging of funds, which stretched that $5 million bond from 2018. Landowners, typically, contribute about 25 percent. Winegar said that open space is something local landowners believe in, which makes for more generous contributions. 

“Midway is a town that really valued their open space and was on a mission to preserve it,” Winegar said. 

Another deal, called the Heart of Midway, involves multiple landowners who committed enough acreage to have a scenic conservation corridor coming in and out of Midway. 

Winegar compared that win to the Swaner Preserve outside of Kimball Junction. As drivers head toward Park City, they drive along a stretch of open land that won’t be developed.

“It won’t get turned into subdivisions,” Winegar said. 

Preserve Midway also featured the Kohler Dairy Legacy Farm on their Instagram, where a total of 102 acres were preserved. 

“This 4th generation family farm is central to Midway’s identity,” the post read. 

Three parcels of land, including the Lundin property recently discussed by Midway City Council, are committed but not yet finalized. 

Winegar and Villani are both confident that bond funds will be effectively utilized from the $5 million voted in this November. 

“The good news is, when we passed this bond five years ago, it was all in theory. We weren’t quite sure how it would play out,” Winegar said. “And now we’ve had five years of experience.”

Looking forward

When Cathleen White’s late husband passed away, she said that, for a time, it was just her and her llamas. White lives on approximately 40 acres of land in Wasatch County, just south of Midway City. 

It’s primarily grazing land for her small herd of llamas, but the history of her property goes back to 1962, when her late husband’s family acquired the sizable parcel of land. 

“I’ve been fortunate to enjoy that property for many, many years, and I want to see it stay that way,” White said at a Wasatch County Open Lands board meeting Monday. 

In her time on the property, White said it’s been home to more than just her and her herd. Deer make their way through to enjoy the massive amount of sagebrush, raptors fly overhead, and White says there’s also a red fox den that’s been there longer than she has. 

“Those are unique items that are on our property, and we would hate to see those torn down for a mega-mansion,” White said. 

While White’s property has been home to plenty of flora and fauna, there have been new developments popping up alongside her land. One house, White says, features a basketball court. Another is about 7,000 square feet in total. 

“That is what we look at and what we will see more of if our property has to be developed, and we don’t want to see that happen,” White said. 

That’s why she’s working with Wendy Fisher, Utah Open Lands executive director, to turn her acreage into conservation easement. Along with plenty of open land, White’s property also includes about 25 shares of water rights.

“And they’re damn good shares,” White’s now-husband Gerald said. 

“It’s my understanding that Midway would like to have a number of projects almost ready to go before they let that bond,” Fisher said. 

White’s property, which Fisher is calling Pear Tree Llamas Ranch, is one of two that were discussed at the Dec. 9 meeting. Both parcels would use a fraction of the $5 million open space bond funds from 2024.

The other property, called Holmes Dairy, features more than 52 acres in Midway. If you count the additional parcels in the North Fields, it’s about 86 acres. 

The Holmes family has owned the land since 1946. Along with croplands, it supports more than 250 dairy cows. Plus, a few donkeys and horses. Two Holmes brothers, George and Glenn, attended the meeting Monday. 

They said that, when their dad was alive, he told them they shouldn’t be the first to sell, but definitely not the last.

“And by golly, we are,” Glenn said. 

“This is one of those landowning families that is really making the commitment and stepping up for open space preservation in Wasatch County,” Fisher said. “You have some next-generation folks within the Holmes family that do care deeply about this property and want to continue to have that close connection with the land and remain there and have that legacy.”

While there was some contention at the meeting and questioning from Heber City Mayor Heidi Franco whether the addition of the North Fields parcels could be incorporated smoothly, there was general support for both the Holmes family property and the Pear Tree Llamas Ranch land. 

There will be a public hearing to discuss both proposals in early January, 2025.

These are just two properties that have a head start on utilizing the 2024 bond funds. Villani said that, in addition, they can look forward to somewhat smaller contributions by local landowners.

“It’s been really wonderful to be able to be a part of these discussions,” Fisher said. “It’s really amazing to see how these landowners as a family have come together to make a lot of different decisions. It’s not an easy thing to do.”

The post Here’s how Midway plans to spend their 2024 $5 million open space bond appeared first on Park Record.

Megan McKenna has officially been named as the newest Summit County councilor after a close election for Seat C.

Summit County Clerk Eve Furse presented the ballot summary to the Summit County Council on Tuesday. Council members certified the results as the Board of Canvassers. 

Voter turnout was just under 90%.

There were 26,482 ballots counted and 526 that were not counted Of those, 350 had a signature that didn’t match, 48 were unsigned and four were without an affidavit. Furse said those voters had an opportunity to cure, or fix, their ballots but did not do so by the Monday deadline.

Furse explained the ballot goes through three levels of review to verify the signature. If the third review finds it doesn’t match, the Clerk’s Office sends a letter to the voter telling them. It includes an affidavit that can be signed and sent back stating the voter mailed in their ballot and they want it counted. 

“When it returns to us, we try to match that signature against the signatures we have on file and if we do, then we can go ahead and count that. If it’s still quite different, we reach out by phone to that voter just to confirm we’re actually talking to that voter and we’ve reached them at their address and the signature is indeed theirs,” Furse said.

Clerk’s Office staff last week also contacted voters who had not yet cured their ballots to remind them of the deadline and the opportunity to have their vote counted. 

Candidates can also request a list of voters whose ballots need to be cured to encourage them to return their ballots. Furse said about 175 ballots were cured from when ballots started being counted.

Additionally, 97 uncounted ballots were postmarked or received after the deadline, 12 ballots were from a different election, seven had already voted and eight had various other issues. There were also 477 provision ballots, of which 454 were counted.

“We also had seven ballots of folks who had already voted … so there were two ballots [received]. We’ll be looking into whether those need to be reported or if there’s an alternative explanation for that. I think some people became concerned in this election when they hadn’t gotten confirmation on their BallotTrax that it hadn’t been received before Election Day. Some people chose to show up in person to cast their vote,” Furse said. 

The Summit County Attorney’s Office in October filed criminal charges against four double voters.

There were 340 votes separating McKenna, a Democrat, from Republican Ari Ioannides. There was just about a 1% margin between McKenna, who earned 50.69% of the vote, and Ioannides, who received 49.31%. 

Incumbent Roger Armstrong won his reelection bid with 52% of the vote over East Side challenger Tory Welch. The Democrat earned 12,945 votes compared to the Republican’s 11,842.

County Council Vice Chair Tonja Hanson was also elected to her first full term on Seat B. She was challenged by Betsy Wallace in the Democratic primary, but delegates selected Hanson as their candidate in March. No one from the Republican Party ran against her. 

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Glenn Wright has been a Democratic stalwart in Summit County for years.

He led the county’s Democratic Party, served on the Summit County Council and has twice been the party’s nominee in congressional contests.

But after a rout on Election Day in the 3rd Congressional District, Wright said he will not be a candidate again for office at any level of government. He said the 2024 run for Congress was “definitely” his last campaign.

“Now I’m fully retired,” he said, adding he plans “a lot of skiing this winter.”

Another local Democrat seeking a larger office — first-time candidate Caroline Gleich — went through the same on Election Day, winning in Summit County and losing big everywhere else in her quest for Mitt Romney’s U.S. Senate seat. She conceded to winner John Curtis, the 3rd District U.S. representative, early Tuesday night before the first results were made public.

In his race to replace Curtis, Wright trailed the Republican winner, Mike Kennedy, by a wide margin, garnering 34.81% of the vote.

There was not an incumbent on the ballot, but the loss was expected nonetheless in the heavily GOP district. It was not clear as Tuesday approached whether Wright would make inroads in the more conservative areas of a district that stretches through a wide swath of eastern, central and southern Utah.

The tally as of Friday morning showed Kennedy’s strength outside Summit County. He racked up more than 90% of the vote in Duchesne County and nearly 90% in Uintah County and Emery County.

Wright won Summit County with 53.46% and Grand County, where Moab is located, with 52.96%. Both of the counties, though, account for just small percentages of the population of the district, and the margins in the two jurisdictions were not overwhelmingly in favor of the Democrat. Wright had a solid showing in Salt Lake County as well, winning 48.77% against Kennedy’s 51.23%.

Wright, who is 76 and lives in Prospector, served one and a half terms on the County Council before opting to retire from the panel. His career was in the insurance industry and he is an Air Force veteran.

He said progress was made during the campaign even after the defeat, noting his results were better than those during his unsuccessful bid for Congress in 2022. He credited what he considered to be a robust digital operation in 2024 and at least one visit to each county in the congressional district.

Wright said the campaign was able to raise issues like women’s reproductive health, housing affordability and the related topics of climate change and water.

Gleich lost a Senate race heavily favoring the GOP candidate, as always. Curtis won 62.57% while Gleich received 32.12%.

Gleich won Summit County and Grand County. Her best result was in Summit County, where she garnered 54.79% of the ballots. Curtis won a series of counties with more than 80% of the vote.

Gleich, who lives in the Snyderville Basin, did not say whether she plans another campaign but indicated she intends to continue in an activist role. Gleich is a professional skier, professional keynote speaker and environmental advocate. She is a small businessperson with work related to her athletic endeavors.

“I will keep showing up and speaking up,” she said.

Gleich campaigned on a platform that included affordability, housing, air quality, climate change and protecting public lands.

Gleich described the campaign as one of the strongest statewide Democratic bids in decades, pointing to the more than 8 million people reached through social media.

“We gave people hope,” she said.

In the 1st Congressional District, which also covers portions of Summit County, the Republican incumbent, Rep. Blake Moore, easily won reelection with 63.6% of the vote. The Democratic challenger, Bill Campbell, received 31.97%. Campbell won Summit County, though, with 55.63%.

Summit County, particularly the Park City area, has long been one of the state’s most reliably Democratic strongholds after decades of new arrivals from left-leaning places like California and New York. Democrats control the County Courthouse, but the party’s nominees from Summit County have not enjoyed the same success in Statehouse and congressional elections.

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Rep. John Curtis, whose 3^rd Congressional District includes Park City, is seeking a seat in the U.S. Senate and said this week he has served his constituents in Park City well during his time in the House of Representatives.

He said in an interview he has worked with local leaders on issues like waterworks and transit funding and has held town halls in Summit County.

“Anybody that looks and has paid attention will admit that we’ve done more for Park City than previous representatives and perhaps more than previous representatives all combined,” Curtis said.

He also said: “We’ve represented Park City now for two years. … I’m confident that anybody that’s been paying attention to my work has seen that we’ve dealt with a lot of very important issues for residents of Summit County.”

Curtis, a Republican who previously served as the mayor of Provo, did not provide a prediction about whether he could win Summit County, one of the most reliably Democratic places in the state, on Election Day.

“That’s up to Summit County voters, and I’ll just say that those who paid attention, I think, will be very supportive of what I’ve done for Park City,” Curtis said.

He pointed to his climate-related work as he spoke about Summit County, calling himself “the rare Republican who’s not only talking about climate but who’s leaned in in a pretty substantial way. And I think that work is very much appreciated up here.”

Curtis, 64, is competing with Caroline Gleich, a Democrat from the Snyderville Basin, for the seat. Democrats typically struggle in statewide contests like those for the U.S. Senate.

Curtis, who appeared Wednesday at Canyons Village for a daylong conference on nuclear energy, outlined a platform that includes a desire to represent Utahns in a manner that they are unaccustomed to from a member of Congress.

“A lot of times, they’re used to politicians doing things a certain way. And in many cases that way has failed. I tend to look at problems differently,” he said. “I think people in Park City can expect me to look at problems in a different way. And when you do that, you find answers that are unexpected.”

Curtis said he is approaching wildfires and related issues in a bipartisan manner, addressing firefighter pay as well as forest management. 

“If you don’t want forest fires, you’ve got to manage them, right? And this is a little bit hard sometimes for some of my Democratic colleagues, because they’d just assume leave the forest alone. But if you’re not managing those forests, part of nature’s cycle is they’re going to burn,” he said.

Curtis also addressed the situation in the Middle East, highlighting that he lived in Jerusalem for six months during the Carter administration at the time of a landmark peace treaty between Israel and Egypt.

“It feels a little bit elusive, but it also felt elusive to Jimmy Carter. … In my opinion, his greatest accomplishment was that peace accord,” he said as he compared the earlier time to today.

“The most important thing for the United States is to realize who our friends are and who our enemies are,” he said. “And Hamas is not our friend. Hezbollah is not our friend. Israel is our friend.”

The post Congressman, amid Senate campaign, touts work on behalf of Park City appeared first on Park Record.

Community members stopping by The Market at Park City for their weekend essentials also had the chance to pick up a beloved symbol to represent their civic pride.

Summit County Clerk Eve Furse was stationed near the grocery store’s drop box on Friday for Vote Early Day to remind residents to turn in their ballots, answer questions, help people register and pass out the much-loved stickers to those who cast their vote. 

Vote Early Day was the last day to register to vote by mail for the general election, though registration is still open for in-person voting. 

Furse heard from several voters that they never received a ballot by mail despite them being distributed early last week. She encouraged them to contact the Clerk’s Office as staff can fulfill requests until Monday. After that, voters are encouraged to amend their plan to in-person voting.

Residents who have not voted since the last presidential election in 2020, or who did not respond to requests to verify their status, may have been marked as inactive. So, a ballot may not have been sent by mail. 

If a voter is inactive, all they need to do is show up in person to vote to reactivate it.
Early voting is available for voters at the Summit County Courthouse from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31; Friday, Nov. 1; and Monday, Nov. 4; as well as from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2. The Kimball Junction branch of the Summit County Library will also be open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. that Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday for early voting.

Election Day voting is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Coalville City Hall, Park City Hall, and the Kamas and Kimball Junction branches of the Summit County Library.

Ballots returned by mail must be postmarked at least one day before the election. They can also be left in drop boxes throughout the county until 8 p.m. on Nov. 5.

Drop boxes are located at the Summit County Courthouse in Coalville, the Park City Library, the Quinn’s Health Department, The Market at Park City, the Jeremy Ranch Park and Ride, Oakley City Hall, Henefer Town Hall, Francis City Hall as well as the Coalville, Kamas and Kimball Junction branches of the Summit County Library.

Utah largely conducts elections by mail, according to Furse. She’s committed to a secure election process, and the Clerk’s Office uses various privacy measures to count votes.

“Our systems have multiple security measures to prevent anyone from having multiple votes counted,” she said. “If someone tells you something about voting that doesn’t seem quite right, please reach out to our office or the Lieutenant Governor’s Office to verify. Please be aware that there is a lot of misinformation out there.” 

Clerk’s Office staff have started processing ballots, but the actual count won’t start until the general election. Furse expected great participation, estimating 6,000 ballots would be returned with Friday’s mail. She anticipated voter turnout would be around 90%. 

Voters can track their ballot through the BallotTrax program. Information on how to sign up is included at the top of the ballot envelope. 

There are several important issues on the ballot this year, including the elections for president, U.S. House and Senate, Utah governor, Summit County Council, board of education, Prop 18 which is the 0.5% emergency services sales tax, the $114 million North Summit School District bond and proposed constitutional amendments. 

Furse encouraged residents to take inspiration from Leadership Park City Class 29’s Let’s Talk project and call someone they haven’t connected with in a while after casting their vote. She acknowledged the political divide in the United States and reminded community members, “We’re all in this together.”

Anyone can call 435-336-3040 or email elections@summitcountyutah.gov for additional information about voting.

The post Summit County residents encouraged to create voting plan for Election Day appeared first on Park Record.

As Summit County prepares for another pivotal election, longtime County Councilor Roger Armstrong has launched a steady reelection campaign fueled by a commitment to safeguard the carefully cultivated legacy he’s helped build over the past decade.

The incumbent Democrat wasn’t originally planning to run for a fourth term in 2024, but his plans changed when he saw the need to protect institutional knowledge at the county level and on the council.

Armstrong is the second longest-serving member of the County Council after Chris Robinson, who was elected in 2008 as one of the original members when the government changed from a three-person commission to a five-member council. 

With County Council Chair Malena Stevens not seeking another term, and the other two councilors having around two years of experience with at least one new member joining next year, Armstrong felt a responsibility to ensure there’s continuity with the thread of work — particularly with the retirement of former Community Development Director Pat Putt after a more than 20-year career and the hiring of a new county manager last year.

“I’ve built some goodwill amongst residents of the county for the work and positions I take to try and protect this place,” Armstrong said. “If I had stepped off four years ago … The 910 might have been illogical. The Ure Ranch might not have happened. I think that experience, those relationships, matter.”

Armstrong first took office in 2013 without having much prior experience. 

He and his wife, Beth, moved to Aspen Springs in October 2005 from a suburb of Los Angeles, California. The couple met while Armstrong was working on the 1991 Oliver Stone-directed film “JFK.” A few months later, she moved to LA to be with him.

Armstrong graduated from the University of California San Diego and considered pursuing a career in clinical psychology before pivoting to the entertainment industry. He made several attempts at acting, singing and songwriting before transitioning to public relations. Armstrong started at a small firm and later joined the company that helped launch the Disney Channel in 1983.

He went on to work on TV shows such as “Fame,” “Family Ties” and “Cheers” and even spent some time working on the movie side. Armstrong also started representing a couple of companies and a few personalities. 

Soon after Armstrong met his wife, he wanted to leave the entertainment industry. He decided to attend Loyola Law School, with the couple living off of Beth’s salary for three years. 

Armstrong was never interested in practicing entertainment law, instead focusing on the environment and child advocacy for a time yet Armstrong found himself back in the business. He was named a partner at the Manatt, Phelps & Phillips firm three years later, and he spent almost a decade there.

After coming up to the Park City area several times for the Sundance Film Festival, the young family found themselves drawn to the small mountain town community. Armstrong picked up a real estate guide and decided to sell his house. 

“We came up here for three, four days and like they say, ‘Come for the winter, stay for the summer.’ We fell in love with this place,” he said. That was 19 years ago, and Armstrong has never looked back.

The Democrat’s career led him to start working with political campaigns, spurring a curiosity for local government. He wondered what it would be like to hold office, and whether politicians can actually make a difference. In LA, Armstrong thought that was impossible. But in Summit County, it could be different.

There were two open seats on the County Council back then, and Armstrong thought he’d give it a try. He knocked on 1,000 doors over the campaign in an effort to meet voters, especially those living on the East Side.

“The most common thing I heard from the eastern part of the county was ‘Where are you from?’ and as soon as you said ‘Park City,’ you just saw the light go out,” Armstrong explained.

Since then, he made a promise to represent eastern Summit County residents who don’t feel like the county does anything for them. Armstrong said he’s spent the past decade making good on his word. He sees Summit County as a service organization designed to improve the lives of its residents, and one that’s dependent on amazing staff to keep running.

For example, Armstrong referenced an ordinance he approved that would have required homeowners to acquire a permit if they were moving a certain amount of dirt. Very quickly, county officials learned constituents were unhappy about the decision. 

Armstrong and another council member met with East Side residents, primarily those working in agriculture, to hear their concerns and the impact the ordinance would have. He said a willingness to listen and learn, from both sides, led to the rule being changed. 

There have also been long discussions about what the county is doing wrong, and meetings with mayors from places like Coalville, Francis, Kamas and Oakley to better understand where they’re coming from and collaborate on issues.

The nation was coming out of the recession when Armstrong first took office, and issues such as transportation, traffic and housing were just becoming concerns. However, Armstrong said growth has always been an overarching problem because it influences everything else. There’s not a dial for each individual issue, meaning everything is impacted by every decision, which can exacerbate the problem if not done correctly. Armstrong sees understaffed restaurants, crowded trails and busy streets as a byproduct.

“That’s what I confronted, and that’s what I take up, and that’s what I believe the voters have asked us to do. Period. Control growth. Manage growth. Mitigate growth,” he said.

The County Council made strides to address the issues, but then the pandemic hit and the issue was perpetuated. Since then Armstrong has been a staunch advocate for preserving open space and promoting responsible development. 

He doesn’t want to see more rooftops in Summit County unless there’s a true, compelling countervailing public interest — Armstrong did help craft Policy 2.3, after all. He also helped create more than 1,000 units of workforce housing, preserve thousands of acres of open space, develop the High Valley Transit District as well as its microtransit program, and implement the Summit County Bike Share program.

He also emphasized the importance of community engagement, nonprofit work and maintaining a balance between growth and preservation, particularly in housing and land use policies.

“We better be smart about what we’re doing and that’s the piece: have I been successful (in achieving what I set out to do)? Yes,” Armstrong affirmed. He acknowledged the problems haven’t been totally solved, but they are being actively addressed.

The Democrat pointed to the new relationships the county has developed with the state as a sign of progress. Staff have been committed to articulating the vision of the community to the state Legislature, which often treats Summit County like a pariah. Still, he said there’s ongoing dialogue, and that’s a “big win” in such a divisive political environment. 

Armstrong isn’t sure party affiliation matters all that much in Summit County. He has served with two Republicans on the County Council over his tenure, and Armstrong said there wasn’t much of a divide locally or much progress made at the state level because of other pressures working against the county.

“I love this place,” Armstrong said. “I’m so grateful to have this opportunity. It’s been much longer, much more of a challenge and far more rewarding than ever.”

The post Roger Armstrong’s quest for reelection emphasizes continuity in leadership appeared first on Park Record.

Less than three weeks remain until the general election, and voters should expect to see ballots arriving in their mailboxes soon.

The Summit County Clerk’s Office sent out envelopes to active voters on Tuesday, 21 days before the election, per Utah state law. Ballots could start showing up as soon as Friday.

Voters can return their ballot by mail as long as it’s postmarked one day before the election, Nov. 4, or by putting it in one of several drop box locations throughout Summit County by 8 p.m. on Election Day. 

Ballot drop boxes are located at the Summit County Courthouse in Coalville, the Park City Library, the Quinn’s Health Department, The Market at Park City, the Jeremy Ranch Park and Ride, Oakley City Hall, Henefer Town Hall, Francis City Hall as well as the Coalville, Kamas and Kimball Junction branches of the Summit County Library.

Most elections in Utah are conducted by mail, according to Clerk Eve Furse. She said she is committed to maintaining the integrity of the election process, and uses a variety of security and privacy measures to securely and accurately count votes. 

For example, county election officials compare the signature on a ballot envelope to make sure it matches previous ballots the person has cast as well as their voter registration form. Individuals will be notified if it doesn’t match and a “cure letter” will be mailed to affirm the signature is correct. The ballot is only counted once the affidavit is received, according to the Clerk’s Office.

The Summit County Attorney’s Office filed criminal charges earlier this month against four people accused of double voting in the June primary election. In those cases, the individuals received ballots corresponding with their registered party, Republican, and also requested a ballot for the open Democratic primary. The individuals voted in both elections, which is not allowed.

“Our systems have multiple security measures to prevent anyone from having multiple votes counted,” Furse said in a statement at the time. “If someone tells you something about voting that doesn’t seem quite right, please reach out to our office or the Lieutenant Governor’s Office to verify. Please be aware that there is a lot of misinformation out there.” 

The votes were not counted twice because of the voting machines in the Clerk’s Office. The system keeps track of who has already voted and dispatches an alert if a name appears twice. The Clerk’s Office performed its logic and accuracy test of the automatic tabulating equipment that will be used in the 2024 election last week. It was open to the public and ran smoothly.

Voting can also be done in person. 

Early voting is available for Summit County voters at the Summit County Courthouse from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 31; Friday, Nov. 1; and Monday, Nov. 4; as well as from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 2. The Kimball Junction branch of the Summit County Library will also be open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. that Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Monday for early voting.

Election Day voting is open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Coalville City Hall, Park City Hall, and the Kamas and Kimball Junction branches of the Summit County Library.

Furse anticipates there will be around 90% voter turnout in the general election. The vast majority of ballots are submitted by mail and around 5% of votes are cast the day of or in person a few days before.

People who have not voted since the last presidential election in 2020 or responded to requests from the Clerk’s Office to verify their status could be marked as inactive, meaning they may not automatically receive a ballot by mail.

Summit County residents have until 5 p.m. on Oct. 25, 11 days before the election, to register to vote in time to receive a mail-in ballot. Ballots will be sent out until about Oct. 28 to guarantee they arrive in time for Election Day.

There are several important issues on the ballot this year including the elections for president, U.S. House and Senate, Utah governor, Summit County Council, the 0.5% emergency services sales tax, the $114 million North Summit School District bond and proposed constitutional amendments. 

Please call 435-336-3040 or email elections@summitcountyutah.gov for additional information about voting.

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