As mail-in ballots arrive for Utah’s GOP primary election, here’s what you should know

A mail-in ballot gets turned in at the dropbox at the Washington County Administration Building, St. George, Utah, November, 2016 | File photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — Even as Utah continues to ease restrictions originally enacted to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns over the virus and the welfare of voters has led to the state’s upcoming primary election being conducted primarily by mail.

“NOTICE: To limit the spread of COVID-19, the Primary Election will be conducted by mail, polling locations may not be available,” a red banner across the top of the Washington County government website states.

With the exception of San Juan County, all of Utah’s counties will be voting by mail for the June 30 primary election.

However, dropboxes will remain available between June 9 – when ballots will begin to be mailed out – until 8 p.m. on June 30.

Dropboxes are available in Washington County at the following locations:

  • The Washington County Administration Building, 197 East Tabernacle Street, St. George.
  • Each of the county’s library branches for St. George, Santa Clara, Washington Cit and Hurricane,.

In Iron County, ballot dropboxes will be available at:

  • Iron County Justice Center, 82 N. 100 East, Cedar City.
  • Iron County Clerk’s Office, 68 S. 100 East, Parowan.
  • Enoch City Offices, 900 E. Midvalley Road. This drop box will be open only as long as pandemic levels remain below the “Moderate Risk Phase,” as defined by the state.

On election day June 30, ballots may be dropped at the Cedar City and Parowan locations until 8 p.m. Limited, drive-up voting will be available at the Iron County Courthouse from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on election day.

The mail-in ballot dropbox at the Washington County Administration Building, St. George, Utah, November, 2016 | File photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Other changes implemented by the state due to the pandemic include no in-person voter registration or voter registration via provisional ballot on election day or at the polls.

Ballots will be sent out between June 9 and 23.

Those wishing to vote in the June 30 primary must be registered voters for the political parties holding primary elections at that time. Voter registration must be received by the county clerk’s office by 5 p.m. June 19.

This election season, only the Utah Republican Party has candidates in various offices facing off in the primary election. Additional information related to voter registration and the June 30 primary can be found on the vote.Utah.gov website.

Voting by mail popular in Southern Utah

Voting by mail has enjoyed increasing popularity in Utah in recent years. Since 2018, St. George, Washington City and Washington County have adopted mail-in voting over the traditional method of going to the polls.

County and city officials have touted the benefit of mail-in voting, citing increased voter turnout over polling stations.

Voter turnout in Washington City during the 2019 municipal elections doubled compared to 2017. Prior to the city switching to voting my mail in 2018, up to 60% of the ballots cast in the 2017 election were mailed in.

County and city officials also say an advantage of the mail-in ballots is allowing voters time to research who and what is on the ballot. To assist Southern Utah voters in doing their research for this primary election, St. George News has compiled a list of its coverage of the candidates and issues below.

Gubernatorial candidates

Spencer Cox

Greg Hughes

Jon Huntsman Jr.

Thomas Wright

Attorney General

State Board of Education District 15

State Legislature House District 71 – covers residents of Iron County and parts of Washington County

Iron County Commission

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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