Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson plays games with mail-in ballots and sparks an Election Day meltdown
Hits & Misses
By Katharine Biele @kathybiele
Miss: Stamp Acts
The 2024 election is a lot about blame—and that's not even counting the stupefaction over the presidential outcome. In Utah—an all-mail-ballot state—there are rarely major problems, but politics always adds another dimension. By 2019, every county in the state opted into mailed ballots. Then again, there's Utah County. The year before, county officers decided against the system, but a public outcry made them change their minds. Despite the growing false claims of voter fraud, all went well until this year. County Clerk Aaron Davidson didn't want the county to pay for ballot stamps and added a note on ballots saying stamps were needed. The Post Office, however, will deliver ballots without postage. Sen. Mike McKell, R-Salem, says it's "mostly political." Davidson wants everyone to vote in person because of unfounded concerns over ballot custody. There's a slight problem, though: Only nine cities in the county have voting centers. The upshot was long lines, frustrated voters and a fun run for ballot paper.
Hit: Air Mail
By a "fun run," we mean not-so-fun. When Utah County ran out of ballot paper and printer toner, the state arranged for a plane to fly to Arizona, "while it also helped the county find a print shop to cut the proper paper material it did have down to the right size," Lt. Gov. Diedre Henderson told KSL. If this sounds old school, it is. Utah County also had the state's lowest percentage of early voting or mailed ballots before Election Day. Davidson insists that he could never have known how many citizens would come out to vote in person, so it wasn't his fault. Of course, if he had simply mailed ballots to each voter instead of adding the stamp issue—and maybe conspiracies—we think he'd have had plenty of paper. Henderson promises to investigate. The county will likely have to foot the airplane bill as it compares what it saved in postage.
Miss: Business is Booming
Meanwhile, Utah will be back in the public lands debate, big time, now that Donald Trump will be back in office. The Bears Ears National Monument will continue shrinking, growing and shrinking again like a sourdough starter. "Environmental attorneys and legal experts say they'll be watching how the new administration approaches calls for the abolishment of national monuments, Utah's push to take over public lands from the federal government, and its adherence to federal law," writes Bloomberglaw.com. That's because the Trump Administration is expected to take action from the Heritage Foundation's Project 2025, which calls for deregulation and expanded oil and gas mining. Utah already filed in the conservative-friendly U.S. Supreme Court to have federal lands declared unconstitutional. At least the legal industry will be benefiting.
About The Author
Katharine Biele
A City Weekly contributor since 1992, Katharine Biele is the informed voice behind our Hits & Misses column. When not writing, you can catch her working to empower voters and defend democracy alongside the League of Women Voters.
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