As concerns about election integrity remain prevalent in the United States, the Utah County Clerk's office tallies each ballot and oversees the election process in Utah County.
According to usa.gov, there are three methods by which a voter may cast a ballot in any given election cycle:
- Voting in person through tabulation machines.
- Dropping off their ballot at a designated drop-off box.
- Mailing in their ballot through the United States Postal Service.
In 2022, 43% of voters cast their ballots in person on Election Day, while 36% used absentee or mail-in ballots and 21% voted in person beforehand, according to Pew Research. During the 2020 election, 45% opted for mail-in voting, with 27% voting in person either on Election Day or early. A consistent trend was also found where Republican voters favored in-person voting more than Democrats, who leaned toward absentee ballots.
According to Pew Research, the use of mail-in ballots has decreased over the past couple of election cycles. While it is still a widely used method, it receives frequent political criticism.
On Sept. 19, the United States Postmaster general Louis Dejoy held a press conference addressing these criticisms and gave an update on the 2024 mail-in ballot operation.
“The postal service is ready to deliver the nation's mail-in ballots. The primary elections are now complete. In July, the OIG (Office of Inspector General) released an assessment of our performance in the primaries,” Dejoy said. “As the OIG reported for the period from Dec. 1, 2023 to April 30, 2024. The postal service processed political and election mail with on-time processing scores ranging from 97.01% to 98.17%. The OIG made recommendations that align with our ongoing efforts in pursuit of operational excellence in all areas of our service.”
Aaron Davidson, Utah County clerk, oversees local, state and national elections and voting in Utah County. He and his staff "ensure that once when the ballots reach their office, they are securely handled, including reception with post offices," he said.
“There must be two staff members present any time a voted ballot is being handled, whether we are picking it up from the post office or drop box, or opening and tabulating the ballot. There are always two staff members,” election specialist Michelle McCormick said.
The Utah County clerk’s office has confidence in their security and process of voter verification, Davidson said, but expressed concern when it comes to the integrity of mailed-in ballots delivered through USPS.
“I have my doubts about the U.S. Postal Service. The U.S. Postal Service has become a bulk mail processing center,” Davidson said.
Many people mistakenly believe mail is postmarked at the drop-off location, Davidson said. It is only postmarked if taken to the counter for a hand stamp. After being bagged, the mail is sent to Salt Lake City, where it is stamped or postmarked before being returned to local post offices for delivery.
"People are finding out that sometimes the same day, it can be a day or two days later, so people that feel like they drop their ballot off the day before elections like they're supposed to at the Post Office, it's gonna get counted, but their vote doesn't count, and they get upset,” Davidson said.
Davidson encouraged voters in Utah County for this coming election cycle to vote in-person or to use their drop-off ballot boxes.
“Go vote in person. It's Election Day, you know, 'Cause we can't accept anything in the Post Office after the day before the elections," Davidson added. "So there are some misunderstandings. It's just not secure, that it's going to be counted if you deliver to the post office.”