Salt Lake County's first Saturday early voting closes the in-person calendar before Nov. 3

SALT LAKE CITY — The Salt Lake County Clerk's office held early voting on a Saturday for the first time on Oct. 31, opening the cafeteria at the Salt Lake County Government Center, 2001 S. State St., from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 9.

It was the county's last early-voting day before Election Day on Nov. 3 2. Clerk Lannie Chapman, at the government center that day, said the extra hours gave voters a way to finish before taking their families out on Halloween 2.

"It gives you a little bit of a sense of ease that you've done your civic duty, that you made sure your voice is heard in our local community before Election Day so you don't have to worry about it at all next week," Chapman said 2.

**Announced in September, in a release about a federal case**

The Saturday hours were an addition to a schedule the county had already published. The clerk's election division announced them in a release dated Sept. 15, in the same document where it reported that the U.S. Supreme Court had denied a request the day before to pause an injunction blocking new U.S. Postal Service requirements for election mail, and that ballots would be mailed beginning Oct. 13 under the county's existing procedure 11.

"Every eligible voter should have a clear path to casting their ballot," Chapman said in that release. "Adding Saturday early voting is another way to improve access to the ballot and give voters greater flexibility in how they participate." 11

**Ten days at the government center, seven satellite sites**

Early voting at the government center ran Oct. 20 through Oct. 23 and Oct. 26 through Oct. 30, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with the Oct. 31 session set at 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. 9.

Seven satellite locations voted Oct. 27 through Oct. 30, 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. 9, the expansion the clerk's office had announced the week before 1. Two lie inside this paper's coverage area: the council chambers at Draper City Hall, 1020 E. Pioneer Rd., and the South Jordan Library, 10673 S. Redwood Rd. 9. Herriman, Bluffdale and Riverton had no satellite early-voting site, leaving voters there the government center or Election Day itself 9.

**Election Day**

Vote centers open Nov. 3 from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and any voter eligible in the election may use any center in the county 7. Nine are in the five cities this paper covers 10: Bluffdale City Hall at 2222 W. 14400 S.; Draper City Hall at 1020 Pioneer Rd. and the Draper Recreation Center at 657 E. Vestry Rd.; Herriman City Hall at 5355 Main St.; Riverton City Hall and the Riverton City Complex community and senior center, both at 12830 S. Redwood Rd.; and, in South Jordan, the Daybreak Library at 11358 S. Grandville Ave., the Ellis R. Shipp Public Health Center at 4535 S. 5600 W. and the Megaplex South Jordan at The District, 3761 W. Parkway Plaza Dr. 10.

**Returning a ballot**

The mail deadline changed under H.B. 300: a ballot must be in the clerk's possession by 8 p.m. on Election Day, and a timely postmark no longer qualifies 7. Drop boxes are open around the clock until 8 p.m. on Election Day 7. The county lists 29 drop boxes, four of them at the government center 2, and they include one in each of the five cities — Bluffdale City Hall, Draper City Hall, Herriman City Hall, Riverton City Hall and South Jordan City Hall at 1600 W. Towne Center Dr. 8.

To receive a ballot by mail, a voter had to be registered no later than 11 days before the election, which was Oct. 23 7, the registration deadline Herriman published for its residents 5. Registration is still available at a vote center on Election Day, Chapman said, but the ballot is then provisional 2. "We sequester that ballot until we've ensured eligibility of that voter before we scan their ballot and tabulate it with everybody else's," she said 2.

**Turnout before the weekend**

The Salt Lake Tribune reported on Oct. 24 that about 77,000 county ballots had been returned as of the end of day that Thursday, and that figures Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson posted put county turnout at 9.9%, 1.6 percentage points above the rest of the state 3. Chapman told the Tribune that turnout so far looked "really good" 3.

**Also on the county ballot**

Voters decide a bond question authorizing up to $128 million in general obligation bonds for open space, parks, trails and recreation facilities 6, and the County Council At-Large A seat, for which the certified ballot lists three candidates and not the incumbent 4.

**What follows**

The county scheduled a post-election audit for Nov. 10 at 10 a.m. at the government center, after a logic and accuracy demonstration held Oct. 9 10.