Primary Election has some nuances Utah voters should know about when casting their ballots

(KUTV) — The primary election on Tuesday has a few nuances voters should know about when casting their ballots.

In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the passage of House Bill 3006 on April 16 in a special legislative session permitted the primary election to be conducted entirely by mail. However, the changes are temporary to Utah's voting statutes that will expire automatically on Aug. 1.

How the changes impact the voter include who is eligible to receive a ballot at a drive-up voting location. The Lt. Governor's Election office provided the following information:

Voter Registration - the voter registration deadline has passed, which was June 19, 5 p.m., in adherence to HB0036. If a person is not registered to vote at this point, they will not be able to vote in the Primary Election.

Changing Party Affiliation - the deadline to change party affiliation has also passed, but there is one exception: unaffiliated voters living in a county with drive-up voting may change their party affiliation at the drive-up location.

Drive-up Voting Counties - Only seven of the state’s 29 counties opted to set-up mobile voting — driving up to a designated location on Election Day and requesting a ballot that must be filled out elsewhere and returned by mail or to a dropbox. Here are the counties with limited drive-up voting locations on Election Day:

• Box Elder - Box Elder County Courthouse, 1 S. Main Street, Brigham City, UT
• Davis - Legacy Events Center (Fairgrounds), 151 S. 1100 West, Farmington, UT
• Iron - Iron County Courthouse, 68 S. 100 East, Parowan, UT
• Salt Lake - TBA
• Tooele - 47 S. Main, Tooele, UT
• Utah - BYU Stadium (west parking lot), 1700 N. University Ave., Provo, UT; Spanish Fork Fairgrounds, 475 S. Main St., Spanish Fork, UT; West Lake High School, 99 N. 200 West, Saratoga Springs, UT
• Weber - Mobile Vote Center, 1000 N. 1200 West, Ogden, UT

Mail Ballot Postmark - the deadline to postmark a mail ballot is Election Day. Many ballot drop boxes are available until 8:00 pm on Election Day as well.

Who Can Participate? - only registered Republicans can vote in the Republican Primary, and only Democratic and unaffiliated voters may vote in the Democratic Primary. All voters, regardless of party affiliation, can vote in a non-partisan (e.g., local school board) election.

Keep in mind, you may still register to vote, change your party affiliation, or update your mailing address, but your submission will not be effective for the Primary Election. It will be effective for the Nov. 3, 2020, General Election.

Utah voters can check their registration info at vote.utah.gov. They can also use the site to see which races will appear on their primary ballot. For Utahns outside of Salt Lake County, county-specific elections information can be found on their county clerk's website or as listed above.

Casting your ballot can be done by mail with the postmark of June 30th or at a drop-box location. Ballots can be deposited 24/7 until 8 p.m. on the Primary Election Night in vote-by-mail ballot drop boxes.

Registered voters who come to limited drive-up locations will be issued a ballot packet that will contain a paper ballot, return envelope, security sleeve, and instructions. The instructions will include a list of drive-thru ballot drop boxes where voters can deposit their voted ballot at which time the drop boxes will be closed. Voters who are issued a ballot at the drive-up locations cannot return their ballot by mail.

Additionally, only voters who are “unaffiliated” are able to ask for a ballot. If they request a Republican Primary Ballot, they will need to fill out a form and affiliate with the Republican Party. Democratic Primaries are only taking place in two districts: Salt Lake County Council #6 and Utah House District 33. If an unaffiliated voter who resides in one of those districts wants a ballot at the drive-up, they will be issued one but will not be required to affiliate with the Democratic Party.

SALT LAKE COUNTY BALLOT DROP BOXES - No voting at these locations:

Alta Post Office - 10351 E Highway 210, Alta, UT

Cottonwood Heights City Hall, 2277 E Bengal Blvd, Cottonwood Heights, UT

Draper Library, 1136 Pioneer Rd., Draper, UT

Herriman City Hall, 5355 Main St., Herriman, UT

Holladay City Hall, 4580 S. 2300 East, Holladay, UT

Kearns Rec Center, 5670 Cougar Ln., Kearns, UT

Magna Library, 2675 S. 8950 West, Magna, UT

Midvale City Hall, 7505 Holden St., Midvale, UT

Millcreek UPD, 1580 E. 3900 South, Millcreek, UT

Murray City Hall, 5025 S State St., Murray, UT

Riverton City Hall, 12830 S. Redwood Rd., Riverton, UT

River's Bend Senior Center, 1300 W. 300 North, Salt Lake City, UT

Salt Lake City Library, 420 S. 200 East, Salt Lake City, UT

Salt Lake County Government Center, 2001 S State St., Salt Lake City, UT

Sandy City Hall, 10000 Centennial Pkwy., Sandy, UT

Sandy Senior Center, 9310 S. 1300 East, Sandy, UT

South Jordan City Hall, 1600 W Towne Center Dr., South Jordan, UT

Taylorsville City Hall, 2600 West Taylorsville Blvd., Taylorsville, UT

West Jordan City Hall, 8000 S. Redwood Rd., West Jordan, UT

West Valley City Hall, 3600 S. Constitution Blvd., West Valley City, UT

For more information, click here.

Can’t find the information you are looking for? Contact the Lieutenant Governor’s Office at elections@utah.gov or 801-538-1041.