Washington County clerk/auditor shares recurring reason why some votes aren’t counted; Canvas results

A ballot drop box outside of the Washington County Administration Building, Aug. 10, 2021 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

ST. GEORGE — The final results of over 34,700 ballots casts in the recent Republican primary election were officially canvased by Washington County officials last week. Of that number, 700 ballots were unable to be counted due to a recurring problem.

In this file photo, Washington County Clerk/Auditor Susan Lewis shares the overall voter turnout for the 2021 municipal elections with the Washington County Commission, St. George, Utah, Nov. 16, 2021 | Photo courtesy of Washington County / CEC, St. George News

“It happens every election,” Washington County Clerk/Auditor Susan Lewis said over the phone last Thursday. “The biggest number (of ballots) we see not get counted is because they get sent in late.”

Approximately 713 ballots were unable to be counted due to arriving in the mail on Election Day or shortly thereafter. Utah law requires a mail-in ballot to be postmarked the day before the election in order to be valid.

“It’s clearly too late,” Lewis said. “It’s going to be stamped too late on Election day. I think it really frustrates voters when we call or send them a letter saying, ‘Sorry, this didn’t count.’”

This is a reason the Clerk/Auditor’s Office encourages voters to use the drop boxes supplied at various locations across the county, Lewis said. Unlike going through the mail late, a ballot slid into a drop box will be collected and counted on Election Day.

While 713 ballots may not be much when compared to the overall 34,730 ballots casts in the primary election on June 28, just a handful of recorded votes can change the outcome of a race.

For example, the House District 72 race between candidates Joseph Elison and Willie Billings – prior to a recount requested by Billings – was separated by just seven votes. Elison has led Billings with 4,131 votes to 4,124, or 50.04% to 49.96%.

In this file photo, Joseph Elison speaks during a candidate debate for House District 74 at the Dixie Convention Center, St. George, Utah, May 19, 2022 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

When the race results are within 0.25% of each other, a candidate may request a recount under state law. Though neither candidate appears to believe the recount will change the results of the race, they said they believe a recount is necessary to maintain the transparency and integrity of the process.

The results of the recount are expected to be announced and approved by the Washington County Commission on Tuesday.

According to the County Clerk/Auditor’s Office, a total of 77,289 ballots were sent to voters in Washington County. Of those voters, 66,158 were registered Republicans and 11,131 were nonpartisan. In addition to the Republican primaries, nonpartisan primary races were held for Washington County School Districts 5 and 6.

Registered Republican voters returned 32,677 ballots, while nonpartisan voters returned 2,053.

Overall turnout for the primaries was 45%, with Republican voter turnout at nearly 50% and nonpartisan voters at 18.%.

In an additional breakdown of the election return Lewis gave to the County Commission last Tuesday, she added that 20,723 ballots had been collected form drop boxes, while 14,041 were mailed in and 748 were done in person during early voting and on Election Day.

For all the talk made by some county residents concerning a desire to return to in-person voting exclusively, Lewis said she was surprised those numbers weren’t greater.

What follows are the official primary election results canvased by the Washington County Commission on July 12.

Republican for U.S. Senate

BECKY EDWARDS 4884 (15.01%)
ALLY ISOM 2189 (6.73%)
MIKE LEE 25458 (78.26%)

 

Republican for U.S. House District 2

ERIN RIDER 5961 (18.6%)
CHRIS STEWART 26082 (81.4%)

 

Republican for Utah Senate 28

PATRICK L. LARSON 2806 (39.21%)
EVAN J. VICKERS 4350 (60.79%)

Republican for House House 72

Currently being recounted.

Republican for Utah House 73

NINA R. BARNES 2480 (36.74%)
COLIN W. JACK 4270 (63.26%)

 

Republican for Utah House 74

KRISTY PIKE 3439 (36.64%)
R. NEIL WALTER 5948 (63.36%)

 

Republican for Washington County Commission Seat A

ALLEN J. DAVIS 12248 (38.83%)
GIL ALMQUIST 19294 (61.17%)

 

Local School Board District 5

WILLARD “JAKE” PEART 1355 (23.24%)
EDYTH LANG 1504 (25.8%)
DAVID B. STIRLAND 2971 (50.96%)

 

Local School Board District 6

SUSAN GILMAN-HASENWINKEL 879 (15.3%)
KELLY BLAKE 1265 (22.02%)
BURKE STAHELI 3601 (62.68%)

 

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2022, all rights reserved.

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