Fewer Summit County voters participated in the primary election last month than in previous years, and county officials are speculating the lower turnout is tied to the state Legislature’s decision to implement districted County Council seats.

The 2026 election cycle is the first time districts have come into play in Summit County. Seats in two — District 4 in the Snyderville Basin and District 5 in the Jeremy Ranch and Pinebrook neighborhoods — are on the ballot this year, but only Democrats signed up to compete for the open positions.

Voter turnout hovered around 37% this year compared to 2024, with 43%, and 2020, with 65%.

The voter pool for the primary election was already narrowed by limiting the County Council seats to districts instead of allowing at-large candidates, but the lack of any Republican candidates further slimmed the field. Registered Democrats living in District 4 or District 5 automatically received a ballot, but unaffiliated or Republican voters in those districts would have needed to request one weeks before Election Day.

Any voters living outside the boundaries of the two districts were ineligible to participate in the County Council race.

Interim Summit County Clerk Malena Stevens said voters were confused about the County Council process this year, with many residents asking questions about why they weren’t able to participate.

“I think all of that impacted voter turnout and the numbers that we saw,” Stevens said. “Looking at County Council races decided by 500 to 700 votes is something that we haven’t encountered before in this community.”

However, Republicans countywide still participated in the GOP primary to choose U.S. House District 3 and State House District 59 candidates, who will appear on the November ballot. Approximately 3,800 Republicans filled out and returned ballots to the Clerk’s Office, compared to 1,530 Democrats.

Stevens said turnout for Republicans and Democrats this year was lower than in 2024 and 2020, the most recent election cycles in which each held a primary. More than 5,000 Republicans and 2,600 Democrats voted in the 2024 primary, while 6,900 Republicans and 3,900 Democrats voted in the 2020 primary.

The presidential races in 2020 and 2024 inspired voter turnout, but Stevens said limiting the field with districts and changing mail-in ballot deadlines likely impacted this year’s election cycle.

However, Stevens said it’s still too early to attribute lower voter turnout numbers to just the county’s new districts because it will take a few election cycles to see the long-term effect of the change.

“I think it’ll be interesting … as we go through different cycles that have County Council candidates who are both Democrat and Republican,” Stevens said. “I don’t know exactly what that’s going to look like as we move forward, but I think it will be different when we have general contests versus primary contests for those reasons.”

Stevens said dozens of ballots were ineligible to be counted this year, too, because the state Legislature recently changed deadlines. Instead of requiring ballots be postmarked by 8 p.m. on Election Day, the Clerk’s Office now must have all ballots in hand by 8 p.m., meaning any ballots that arrived late were discounted.

Specifically, Stevens said 102 ballots were received after the 8 p.m. deadline.

“People have to opt-in to vote by mail starting in 2029, so they won’t automatically get a ballot,” Stevens said. “I think this is a community collaboration as to how we can best make sure that every person who is eligible has the opportunity to vote, not just in theory, but also practically, that they understand how to go about it and where.”

Local attorney Christie Babalis won the District 4 race with 436 votes, or 53%. Her competitor, John Kucera, was a former member of the Snyderville Basin Planning Commission and earned 386 votes, or 47%.

Incumbent and County Council Chair Canice Harte won his reelection bid in District 5 with 361 votes, or 51%. His challenger, Park City Board of Education President Meredith Reed, earned 346 votes, or 49%.

The Summit County Council canvassed the election on Tuesday and finalized the primary results.

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Wasatch Back voters have just a few more days to cast their ballots in the general election.

Tuesday is Election Day, and the Summit County Clerk’s Office has received 4,190 ballots, or 30% total countywide, as of Friday morning. The majority are from mail-in or drop box votes, with a small turnout so far from early voting. 

Ballots were mailed about two weeks ago. Since then, Clerk Eve Furse said staff have been collecting and processing ballots so they’re ready to count and training poll workers. Early voting also started on Wednesday and will remain open through 1 p.m. on Saturday at the Summit County Health Department’s Quinn’s Junction location on Round Valley Drive and the Summit County Courthouse on Main Street in Coalville.

Furse anticipated countywide voter turnout would be about 45%, which is typical for an off-year election. She expects the majority of ballots will be cast on Monday or Tuesday.

Staff planned to start counting ballots on Friday afternoon. Each is marked with a unique identification number tied to each voter. The Clerk’s Office collects and processes ballots by verifying the signature matches against past signatures — with an opportunity for the voter to correct it if challenged — and scans the barcode. Then, the ballots are entered into the tabulation equipment. 

Furse said the system records and counts the votes, but the information is suppressed until polls close at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. 

The biggest challenge for the Clerk’s Office has been keeping up with all of the changes to the West Hills incorporation election. 

Summit County Third District Judge Matthew Bates’ October ruling invalidated the election after 10 people filed a lawsuit to block the vote. West Hills sponsor Derek Anderson appealed the ruling to the Utah Supreme Court, which temporarily reinstated the election. However, the state’s high court ultimately reversed its decision after a last-minute hearing.  

Furse said the Clerk’s Office had to cancel the West Hills vote in its system, which then would “spoil” or flag ballots in that election, reinstate it, and then call it off again. However, ballots were already printed, so 97 residents will still see the incorporation vote on their ballot.

The Clerk’s Office has also heard a few questions from people living in the Snyderville Basin who did not receive a ballot. Furse clarified that not every voter will have an election. 

For example, the only race in the Snyderville Basin is for Summit County Service Area #3 Board of Trustees and that is solely open to Silver Creek residents. There would have been a water reclamation district election, but there were as many candidates as open seats.

Municipal elections are being held for mayor and city council in Coalville, Francis, Henefer, Kamas, Oakley and Park City. One candidate is also running for one open South Summit Fire District fire board commission.

Ballot drop boxes are located throughout Summit County, including the Park City Library, Oakley City Hall, Francis City Hall, Henefer Town Hall, the Summit County Courthouse, the Coalville and Kamas Valley branches of the Summit County Library, The Market at Park City and the Quinn’s Health Department. Hours may vary by location.

Mail-in ballots must be in possession of the Clerk’s Office by Tuesday night to be counted, a change from previous years when ballots had to be postmarked the day before the election. Voters who are unsure if their ballots will arrive in time by mail should use a drop box instead.

The first round of preliminary results will be released by the Clerk’s Office after polls close. Updates will be provided throughout the week until all votes are counted.

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A large, slate gray device resembling an early 2000s Xerox machine whizzes, spitting out a test deck of sample ballots into a top, middle or bottom bin based on what it detects. The categories are simple: can count, needs human eyes and unreadable.

The outcome, unlike the actual election, is predetermined. 

Election programmer Election Systems & Software (ES&S) marks the test deck using a predictable pattern for each primary municipal election, and sends a copy of what the ballot count outcome should be to the Summit County Clerk’s Office. Staff use the deck to test the voting tabulation equipment and make sure it’s calculating votes correctly before the actual count begins.

Clerk Eve Furse said the logic and accuracy test is a key component in safeguarding election integrity and promoting public trust in the process. 

A printer generates a copy of the test deck created by ES&S on mail-in ballot paper, which is then sent to the County Courthouse. Furse explained the Clerk’s Office also makes a sampling of those ballots on an ExpressVote and on the Ballot on Demand printers so the count is tested on mail-in ballot paper, replacement ballot paper and in-person voting paper — to make sure all voting methods are covered.

Clerk’s Office staff, primary candidates and citizens curious about the process crowded into a small room on Monday morning to participate in and observe the test.

A report is printed to show that before the ballots are counted, the machines have been cleared of all old counts. Furse said this is for the DS450 digital scan ballot tabulator, the desktop, the laptop and the DS200 back-up machine, none of which are connected to the internet. Only poll pads connect to the internet for voter registration checks.

Then the test deck is run through the DS450. The ballot tabulator scans the ballots, categorizing them based on whether the vote is readable. Some ballots need to be adjudicated, such as if someone had crossed off their choice and selected a new one or if an individual overvoted. 

Furse described Utah as a “voter-intent state,” saying officials do whatever they can to ensure every ballot is counted when possible, even if it means additional steps to verify a vote.

If a ballot is marked as unreadable, Clerk’s Office staff will look at it to determine the issue and decide on how the vote should be counted. There are two people for every task, such as collecting ballots from drop boxes and signing off on the reports, to promote integrity and security.

After the sample ballots go through the DS450, a report is generated. Staff compare the printed report to the master report to see if it matches. If it does, the machine is doing its job. 

Clerk’s Office staff move the results from the DS450 to a desktop, upload the results and print a report to make sure it matches. If it does, the votes are not being changed during the transfer from the tabulating machine to the desktop. 

Next, the results are loaded onto a laptop. Again, staff print a report to see if it matches the master list. If it does, they know the votes aren’t being changed. The Clerk’s Office is also equipped with special USB-like encrypted keys that prevent the data from unauthorized access or tampering.

There are also several checks in place before ballots even hit the tabulation machines to be counted. 

Ballots are mailed to voters around three weeks before an election, each marked with a unique identification number tied to each voter. The Clerk’s Office collects and processes ballots by verifying the signature matches against past signatures — with an opportunity for the voter to correct it if challenged — and scans the barcode. Then, the ballots are entered into the tabulation equipment. 

The initial preliminary count is released in the days following the election, and the Summit County Council meets as a canvass to certify the results soon after.

Furse recognized that it can be frustrating not to see official results immediately after the election, but she said there needs to be a balance between speed and accuracy. 

Polls close at 8 p.m. on Election Day. The primary election is Aug. 12. Ballots were mailed Tuesday and should arrive in mailboxes soon.

Changes to state law prevent the Clerk’s Office from accepting any ballots returned after the election. Utah law previously allowed mail-in ballots postmarked the day before the election to be counted. However, ballots returned by mail must now be received by Election Day. 

Furse encouraged voters to plan ahead to ensure their ballots arrive on time. If there’s any doubt it will be returned on time, she advised dropping ballots in a drop box or voting in person.

Ballots will also have a box for voters to put the last four digits of their driver’s license number or Social Security number, starting this election cycle. This is a new process that will formally take effect in 2029. It’s intended to improve voter security by providing a more objective verification method than signing. 

Voters should also look for a box to check whether they want to opt in to receiving a ballot by mail. The state Legislature amended the law to make mail-in ballots no longer automatic starting in 2029.

Drop boxes are at the Summit County Courthouse, the Coalville and Kamas branches of the Summit County Library, the Park City Library, The Market at Park City, the Summit County Health Department in Quinn’s Junction, Francis City Hall and Henefer Town Hall.

Early in-person voting is also permitted in the week leading up to the primary as well as the day of. Early voting will be available from Wednesday, Aug. 6, to Saturday, Aug. 9, at the Summit County Clerk’s Office and the Marsac Building. The Clerk’s Office will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. Park City Hall will be open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.

Election Day voting locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Aug. 12 at Coalville City Hall, the Kamas branch of the Summit County Library and the Marsac Building.

Furse emphasized that misinformation about voting is the No. 1 election issue for the Clerk’s Office. She affirmed that Summit County has safe, fair elections. People with questions are encouraged to email elections@summitcountyutah.gov or call 435-336-3203.

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Five residents are suing the Summit County Clerk’s Office over its rejection of signature packets aimed at overturning the approval of the Dakota Pacific Real Estate project.

Angela Moschetta, Reed Galen, Dana Williams, Ruby Diaz and Brendan Weinstein filed the 82-page complaint on Thursday. The group claims that County Clerk Eve Furse erred in declaring the petition challenging the adoption of Ordinance 987, which approved the amended Tech Center development agreement, null. They’re asking a Third District Court judge to issue an order that the petition is legally sufficient.

Diaz and Weinstein are two of the seven original community members who sponsored the referendum application, organizing under the name Protect Summit County, which allowed the process to proceed if certain standards were met. One of the requirements for putting the issue on the November ballot was receiving 4,554 verified signatures, the total number of which needed to make up 16% of voters countywide, plus 16% from three of the four voter precincts.

The petitioners said they followed the appropriate steps to challenge Ordinance 987, including meeting the signature requirement. They asserted that they obtained the “requisite number of signatures in the requisite locations” to put the referendum on the ballot, but Furse did not verify all signatures.

In February, the Clerk’s Office rejected dozens of packets because of “improper circulation” under Utah Code. At the time, she said there were three-hole punches that indicated the signature and voter information sheets may have been separated. 

The group argues the county clerk was incorrect and that her interpretation of the binding requirement is “unsupported and contrary to” the state law. If the signatures in the rejected packets had been counted, the sponsors said the referendum would have enough signatures to satisfy the requirement to be eligible for the general election.

“Instead, she categorically rejected thirty bound packets of signatures and, based on that, determined that the Ordinance Petition was insufficient,” the complaint states. “Specifically, the County Clerk stated that she ‘was not able to verify a number of packets’ because according to her ‘they had not been bound as a unit throughout the petition process.’”

The lawsuit argues the Summit County Council’s 4-to-1 approval of the development project in December will have “profound adverse impacts on residents … and the public infrastructure,” inspiring the referendum challenging Ordinance 987. 

The approved amended development agreement allows Dakota Pacific to build 725 housing units and other commercial amenities. Summit County would also enter into a public-private partnership with the developer to create 165 additional county-owned affordable housing units as well as amenities like a new transit center and underground parking.

Deputy County Attorney Helen Strachan in January declared the referendum was “legally referable to voters,” and the Clerk’s Office emailed the referendum petition packet documents to the sponsors. The lawsuit alleges Furse calculated the deadline for signature packets to be returned based on a Jan. 16 start date, although the referendum sponsors hadn’t signed an agreement with the Clerk’s Office until the following day — “shortening the sponsors’ and petitioners’ time to gather valid signatures.”

Referendum sponsors said they prepared 30 packets for collecting signatures using three-ring binders for the initial packets, but the packets were rebound using spiral binding before submitting them to the Clerk’s Office for review. An additional 47 packets were prepared for collecting signatures until March 2, the day before the deadline, according to the lawsuit.

The sponsors submitted most of the initial packets to the Clerk’s Office on Feb. 18 and received a letter from Furse the following day informing them she would not accept 21 of the packets because of the hole punches. The remaining nine were also rejected when they were turned in.

Photos showed signature pages from several referendum packets separated from the rest of the referendum packet, which is required to provide information to voters about the ordinance. However, the sponsors said the pages were separated from the packet so people could read the referendum and then decide whether or not to sign the petition, but maintain they were presented as a single unit in compliance with state law. 

“The County Clerk incorrectly concluded from those photos that the signature pages from all the three-hole punched packets were ‘being circulated without being in a bound packet,’” the lawsuit said. It continued, “Contrary to the County Clerk’s concern, none of the pages from the Initial Packets were separated or circulated apart from the Initial Packets.”

The sponsors in a Feb. 20 email to Furse said the initial packets that had been rejected complied with Utah Code and asked her to verify and count the signatures. She responded later in the day, according to court documents, saying staff have started processing the packets they can, and the rejected packets will be maintained but not counted. The sponsors were encouraged to ask people who signed the rejected petition packets to resign, but Protect Summit County did not heed the advice.

The Clerk’s Office had until March 24 to finish verifying the signatures, with initial counts adding up to 3,214 or about 70% of what was needed. The formal certification would come on June 23. 

In another correspondence with Furse on June 18, the sponsors sent a letter explaining that the initial rejection was unfounded. They cited state code stating packets are prepared by “binding a copy of the referendum petition with the text of the law that is the subject of the referendum and no more than 50 signature sheets together at the top in a manner that the referendum packets may be conveniently opened for signing.”

Still, the Clerk’s Office declared the referendum petition insufficient five days later.

The petitioners said that unless the court intervenes, thousands of Summit County voters will be disenfranchised. They argued for a judge to order the Clerk’s Office to accept and verify the signatures in all referendum binders and put the referendum on the ballot if the petition then satisfies the requirements. Protect Summit County estimated it collected about 6,000 signatures in total.

“We are disappointed that circumstantial evidence, arbitrary invalidation of packets, and clear misinterpretations of both code and case law are disenfranchising 2,687 Summit County voters,” the group said in a statement last month. “People signed packets in good faith and with a clear will to put Dakota Pacific and Ordinance 987 on November ballots. As the clerk has confirmed it’s her duty to do, she should be validating Summit County voters and not succumbing to pressures of the developer or the lieutenant governor and Legislature who are working in Dakota’s favor.”

Protect Summit County launched a GoFundMe after the formal declaration to help cover research, an in-person meeting with the clerk and the appeal filing. The group had raised $4,728 of its $6,500 goal through 25 donations at the start of the week. It plans to raise the fundraising goal to pursue a higher court review if needed. Any surplus will “support voter outreach to ensure turnout in November.”

Summit County had not responded to the lawsuit as of Tuesday morning. A court hearing had not been set either.

“Throughout this process, the Clerk’s Office has followed state statute as interpreted by our attorneys and the Lieutenant Governor’s Office,” Furse said in a statement. “My office is ready to follow whatever determination is made.”

It’s unclear how legal action could affect the development project as Dakota Pacific has submitted a new agreement for the property under Senate Bill 26, a new law that essentially guarantees the project will be built with — or without — Ordinance 987.

S.B. 26 did not mention Dakota Pacific or Summit County by name when it was approved during the general session, but the specifics of the mixed-use project described are nearly identical to what the developer has proposed in the Kimball Junction area. The law also prevents a county from taking any action or enforcing an agreement, ordinance, regulation or requirement that would interfere with the development. 

The post Summit County residents challenge clerk’s rejection of Dakota Pacific referendum petition appeared first on Park Record.

The Utah Legislature started the 2025 general session with a flurry of election-related bills, including one that will “significantly” affect voters who prefer mail-in ballots, according to Summit County Clerk Eve Furse.

Utah County Rep. Jefferson Burton sponsored House Bill 300 this year, which requires voters to manually sign-up for a mail-in ballot instead of receiving one automatically. The bill was passed by both the state Senate and House of Representatives, but it’s still awaiting Gov. Spencer Cox’s signature as of Monday afternoon.

“It was initially [a bill] that was meant to do away with mail-in voting. They amended it a number of times, and the version that we finally have does not do away with mail-in voting, but it does change it and introduces a new form of verification and then phases that in so that it’s fully in place by 2029,” Furse explained.

Voters will need to opt-in to receive a mail-in ballot by 2029, either when registering to vote or when obtaining and renewing a driver’s license. Furse said there will also be a way to opt-in electronically. It would be similar to the current system that allows voters to update their registration information online.

The Clerk’s Office will start requesting voters provide the last four digits of their Utah driver’s license, Utah ID or social security number as part of that process.

“If people don’t give us those numbers but they sign the ballot, we can validate off the signature instead of those numbers,” Furse said. “By 2029, there will be no opportunity to validate by the signature.”

Instead, voter verification will be based on the individual’s driver’s license, ID or Social Security number. If a voter doesn’t know their number, they’ll have to include a photocopy of a valid voter ID with their ballot. Furse said Clerk’s Office staff could verify the ballot that way.

She said she doesn’t necessarily think the bill will detrimentally affect voter participation rates, but there will need to be a big educational push before the 2029 deadline.

“It will take some action on their part, but it should be a fairly straightforward thing that they need to do, and they have four years to do it,” Furse said. “But it won’t be until 2029 that you will have had to have done it. You’ll still get your mail-in ballot normally this year if you’ve been receiving one and you’ve been voting.”

H.B. 300 also changes the deadline for mailing a ballot. Now, the Clerk’s Office has to receive the ballot by 8 p.m. on Election Day for it to be considered valid rather than having the envelope postmarked by then.

“Particularly if you’re mailing it because you’re out of state at the time, it means people really need to mail their ballots as quickly as they can after they receive them to make sure we receive them in time to be able to count them,” Furse said.

Additionally, the legislation makes it easier for people who are homebound to vote. Caretakers were already allowed to obtain ballots for homebound adults in long-term care facilities, but H.B. 300 streamlines the process and modifies eligibility to be more inclusive, according to Furse.

“They also made it available to somebody who’s not necessarily in the hospital or hospice but they can’t leave their home, so that’s a good thing and something for folks to keep in mind if they’re a caretaker of someone else,” she said.

Furse had previously expressed concerns about other legislation to the Summit County Council, including a bill that would have forced Summit County to implement a two-page ballot and another that would have discontinued the state’s partnership with the Electronic Registration Information Center.

Both failed to pass this year, but there was one successful bill that surprised Furse — House Bill 263, sponsored by Utah County Rep. Norman Thurston.

H.B. 263, which is similarly awaiting Gov. Cox’s signature, requires county clerks to create electronic copies of election records and maintain them for 12 years. The videos recorded of the dropboxes will be considered public records, too. Furse said it will cost the Clerk’s Office a lot of time and money.

She and other clerks across the state are also questioning how the data will be used.

“With the dropbox video, we don’t want to see voters targeted or their images used, generally, by people, so we’re reluctant for that to become a publicly accessible document that everybody can have of whoever’s dropping ballots at dropboxes,” Furse explained.

The bill came as a surprise to Furse because legislators also filed proposals attempting to protect election-related information, and H.B. 263 appears to conflict with that philosophy.

“It’s just in a different direction, so it seems to be sort of a disconnect between the same folks,” Furse said. “I’m not sure I fully understand the basis for that, but because H.B. 263 passed late, this is one that I’m hopeful there will be the ability to modify some of that to make it more workable both for clerks and more protective of voters.”

Furse also wanted to remind voters to focus on the general session while it’s ongoing, even though it’s a challenging time of year for many Summit County residents because it’s after the holidays and in the middle of ski season.

“Things happen quickly, and our representatives put a lot of weight in the communications they receive from their constituents,” she said. “If there are bills that concern people, please, please, please make sure you are contacting your state representatives, state senators as quickly as possible in order to protect your interests.”

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