OGDEN — Efforts to increase voting before Election Day paid off for Weber County.
In total, 30,295 voters did not wait to stand in line on Nov. 6, according to results recorded by county elections officials.
“It’s changing the way things are going,” Weber County Commissioner Craig Dearden said. “It’s really great.”
Weber County Elections Director Jennifer Morrell presented the findings from the Nov. 6 election, known as the 2013 Weber County Board of Canvass, to the Weber County Commission on Tuesday.
The Weber County Board of Commissioners approved the canvass during its regular meeting in the Commission Chambers of the Weber Center, 2380 Washington Blvd., Ogden.
Presenting the canvass brings the election to a close.
In accordance with state law, all of the votes, including the 5,131 provisional ballots have been accounted for.
Now that the commission has approved the canvass, Morrell will send the figures, including a full report and a breakdown of every precinct, to the Utah Lieutenant Governor’s Elections Office.
In all, of the 109,203 registered voters in Weber County, 76,524 cast a ballot.
Of those voters, 46,150 visited the polls on Election Day, while 23,778 participated in early voting and 6,517 used a mail-in ballot.
Of those who could not make it to a machine, for health reasons or because of personal preference, 79 paper ballots were cast.
“We want everyone to vote that possibly can,” Weber County Commissioner Kerry Gibson said. “We give them a lot of options now.”
Morrell said she received compliments on the voting locations as well.
Instead of relying mostly on schools, which are in use on Election Day, the county relied on other buildings, including churches.
The use of such facilities provided more parking and more space, which increased privacy for voters.
To provide consistency for voters, the county hopes to keep the same locations for the next elections, but in the end the decision will be up to the cities.
State special elections and municipal primaries will take place the fourth Tuesday in June.
To help with the increased volume, the county hired more than 500 poll workers.
Many county employees volunteered their weekend to help prepare for the election, along with 10 Weber State University students who also volunteered their time.
“We had a really good support network here,” Morrell said.
For the next elections, Morrell said she hopes to bring in more people who are comfortable with the technology, including a proficiency with the laptops.
“We are always in need of good people to come and work on Election Day — and it’s a long day — and if they are interested, they really get to see how it works on the inside,” Morrell said.
Besides requesting volunteers, she said she hopes to see everyone participate in the next election as well.
Comments