As mail-in ballots arrive for the general election, here’s what you should know

ST. GEORGE — While some questions on the national level concerning the security of voting by mail may have cast some doubt on the process, Washington County’s clerk/auditor assures voters the process is safe and secure.

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

“We think it’s safe,” Washington County Clerk/Auditor Kim Hafen said Wednesday. “I’m glad we’re not a state trying to do this for the first time during a general election. I feel sorry for them.”

Washington County proper became a vote by mail county two years ago, though precincts in the county’s outlying communities have been vote by mail for much longer, Hafen said.

“It’s not something new,” he repeated. “We think it’s a good, safe process.”

Under Utah law, mail-in ballots aren’t sent out until three weeks before the election. Ballots began to be sent to active, registered voters Tuesday and should start arriving the second half of this week.

People have been calling the clerk’s office wondering where their ballots are, Hafen said. There has been some confusion as other states have already sent out mail-in ballots. Hafen said he’s told callers that each state’s system is different.

Once the ballot arrives, voters will have the chance to review who is on the ballot and perhaps take the time to educate themselves more on who is running, as well as take note of the many amendments being proposed for the state constitution, Kim said.

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

Unlike June’s primary elections, the opportunity for in-person voting, both early and on Election Day, will be available. While Iron County will offer various locations for in-person voting, it will only be available at the Dixie Convention Center in St. George for Washington County as a whole.

Ballot dropbox and in-person voting locations for Washington and Iron Counties are listed below:

Washington County

  • The Washington County Administration Building, 197 E. Tabernacle St., St. George.
  • St. George branch of the Washington County Library, 88 W. 100 South, St. George.
  • Hurricane branch of the Washington County Library, 36 S. 300 West, Hurricane.
  • Washington City branch of the Washington County Library, 220 N. 300 East, Washington City.
  • Santa Clara branch of the Washington County Library, 1099 Lava Flow Drive, St. George.

Iron County

  • Iron County Justice Center, 82 N. 100 East, Cedar City.
  • Cedar City Offices, 10 N. Main St., Cedar City.
  • Iron County Courthouse, 68 S. 100 East, Parowan.
  • Enoch City Offices, 900 E. Midvalley Road, Enoch.
  • Paragonah Town Hall, 44 N. 100 East, Paragonah.
  • Kanarraville Town Hall, 40 S. Main St., Kanarraville.
  • Parowan City Office, 35 E. 100 North, Parowan.
  • Brian Head Town Hall, 56 N. Highway 143, Brian Head.

In-person voting locations:

A sign points voters to the ballot box in Washington City, Utah, Aug. 11, 2017 | File photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Washington County

In-person voting will be held at the Dixie Convention Center, 1835 Convention Center Drive, St. George.

Early Voting

  • Oct. 27-28 – noon to 4 p.m.
  • Oct. 29-30 – 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Election Day – Nov. 3 – 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Iron County

Early voting will be held at:

  • Iron County Courthouse, 68 S. 100 East, Parowan
  • Enoch City Offices, 900 E. Midvalley Road, Enoch
  • Cedar City Office, 10 N. Main St., Cedar City
  • Oct. 20-21 – 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Oct. 22-23 – 1-5 p.m.
  • Oct. 26-28 – 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Oct. 29-30 – 1-5 p.m.

Election Day – Nov. 3 – 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.

  • Iron County Courthouse, 68 S. 100 East, Parowan.
  • Enoch City Offices, 900 E. Midvalley Road, Enoch.
  • Cedar City Office, 10 N. Main St., Cedar City.
  • Iron County Tourism Bureau, 581 N. Main St., Cedar City.
  • Cedar City Aquatic Center, 2090 W. Royal Hunte Dr., Cedar City.
Voting machines set up at the Washington County Administration Building during a primary election, Aug. 15, 2017 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Those wishing to vote in the general election must be registered voters. Voter registration must be received by the county clerk’s office by 5 p.m., Oct. 23. Utah offers online registration here.

If you miss the deadline, you can register at an early voting location or an Election Day voting location. However, you will need to present two forms of identification at the voting location to register.

Additional information related to voter registration and the general election can be found on the vote.Utah.gov website.

Signature validation process

Once a ballot is received by the county through the mail or collected from one of its many dropboxes, Hafen said the ballots are put in batches of 50 and sent to the “count house” where a machine checks the signatures.

If a signature is a 70% match, it is counted as authentic. Signatures below threshold are rejected and left to human review. From there, someone at the county clerk’s office will call the voter and ask them to come to the office to verify their signature.

“That doesn’t mean it’s wrong,” Hafen said. “What it means is that maybe your signature has changed over time.”

This could be due to a number of factors like age and health, Hafen said.

Voters can verify their signatures at the clerk’s office and sign an affidavit supporting that claim so their vote call is counted.

Washington County Clerk/Auditor Kim Hafen speaks to on the safety of the county’s mail-in voting system, St. George, Utah, Oct. 14, 2020 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

In some cases, someone will send in a ballot and forget to sign their name to it. These cases are also called on by the clerk’s office. Hafen noted that forgotten signatures are taken care of the majority of the time while calls on a questionable signature may not always be followed up on by the notified voter.

Some advice from the county clerk

Hafen said it’s a good idea to get ballots in early if you plan to mail them. The later you wait – especially the last few days before the election – it’s a better idea to drop the ballot into a county dropbox than mailing it. This is because the mail will be sent to northern Utah first and then sent back to the county. This runs the risk of not having the ballot postmarked before Nov. 3.

Dropboxes will be routinely checked and unloaded starting this Friday, Hafen said. They will also be open on Election Day until 8 p.m.

“The closer it is to Election Day, use the dropbox,” he said.

When using a dropbox, ballots must be in the envelope originally sent with them. The ballot can’t be counted otherwise, Hafen added.

Sign your own ballot and not that of someone else, even if your spouse or a son or daughter is out of town serving in the military or a church mission. Hafen said that has happened before and can constitute voter fraud.


Check out all of St. George News’ coverage of the 2020 election by clicking here.

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

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