State leader encouraging Utahns to get more involved in voting process

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah primary election is Tuesday, Sept. 5, the day after Labor Day, and a state leader is encouraging Utahns to become more involved in the voting process. 

Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson tells KSL NewsRadio how voters can become more active in the election process. She also discusses some issues that voters need to be aware of prior to next week’s election.

 

Henderson says voters can take some of the responsibility upon their own shoulders. She says they can go online to see when their ballot will be mailed and when it was processed. 

“They can take that burden upon themselves,” she said. “Personal responsibility to make sure that their vote has been counted. But also, we encourage them, if they have questions about how the process works, their county clerk wants them to come in, want them to see the process.”

More interest in the voting process

Henderson is hopeful that curiosity will help more individuals become involved in the election process.

“At some point too, we would love more people to get involved in the actual process through being a poll worker or a poll watcher,” she said. 

She also stresses that Utah’s elections are safe and secure.

“We’ve put so many measures, checks and balances into place,” Henderson said. “And the whole thing is public so any voter can go during any part of the process and watch for themselves.”

Mail-in ballot

Henderson says typically mail-in ballots need to be postmarked by the day before the election. Because of the Labor Day holiday the day before the upcoming election, she says the legislature changed it so mail-in ballots can be postmarked on Sept. 5. 

“I would take it in and make sure that you see it getting stamped,” she said. “Just so it doesn’t sit there til the next day somehow. But the safest bet is to put it in a dropbox or take it in person.”

She says security cameras are in place near the ballot boxes, adding an extra layer of security.

With the security cameras, Henderson says not only would fraudulent ballots not be counted, but the people dropping them off would be on video surveillance.

“With the security cameras, we’d see who actually put those in,” she said. “Just because you drop it off doesn’t mean it’s gonna get counted.”

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