Utah clerks from both parties defend vote-by-mail as ballots go out

As mail ballots reach Utah voters this week, county clerks of all political stripes are pushing back on national claims that voting by mail is insecure, Utah News Dispatch reported in a story produced with KUER and PBS Utah. Grand County Clerk/Auditor Gabe Woytek, who is unaffiliated, said he is "very tired" of rhetoric that undermines a system he knows to be safe. ^[1]

Davis County Clerk Brian McKenzie, a Republican, said doubt leads people to disengage. Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman, a Democrat, said lawmakers have passed more than 60 election laws since 2020 and criticized the move away from automatic mail voting, which will require voters to opt in by 2029. Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson has also defended the system. ^[1]

McKenzie described the safeguards: at least two workers collect and log ballots, the election center is under round-the-clock video surveillance, each envelope carries a unique barcode that is canceled if a replacement is issued, and signatures are checked against up to five images on file. Tabulation equipment is not connected to the internet, he said, and data is moved by encrypted, equipment-specific devices. ^[1]

Clerks urged voters to sign up for the state's Track My Ballot alerts and not to wait. Under a new law, mailed ballots must reach the clerk by 8 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 3, regardless of postmark, the outlet reported. Drop boxes stay open until polls close. ^[1]