Many voters will be weighing in on 2024 presidential candidates next week, but depending on your party affiliation, the methodology will be different.

Next Tuesday marks the Utah Democratic Party‘s presidential primary and the Utah Republican Party‘s presidential preference poll as part of statewide caucuses.

Weber County Clerk/Auditor Ricky Hatch told the Standard-Examiner that there is a significant difference between how the two are handled.

“(The Democratic primary) is being run by the counties where we have mailed out official presidential preference ballots to all Democratic voters and to all other voters who have requested to have that ballot sent to them,” he said. “This is a normal primary election that’s run by county election offices.”

He said the GOP has a different approach to the primary.

“Parties have the ability to choose how their presidential preference polls are conducted and the Utah Republican Party chose to conduct their election at the caucus meetings they are holding across the state,” he said. “County governments really aren’t involved in this election; this is completely owned and run by the Utah Republican Party. They set the rules of who participates in the caucus, how the election is being conducted and they tabulate the votes themselves.”

According to the Utah GOP’s website, “presidential candidates are notably more present under a caucus system–many having already spent time here in Utah. Presidential preference polls generally lead to more meaningful and frequent engagement from candidates compared to primaries filled with standardized ad buys. The Utah Republican Party is and will continue to work hard with the county parties to ensure a seamless and well run caucus process in 2024. Caucus night will provide an opportunity for purposeful involvement from all walks of life, giving voters a chance to interact with each other and deepen their understanding of their important role in shaping the future of our nation.”

The site lays out rules for the caucuses, including preregistration requirements, and includes a caucus locator for registered Republican voters. For more information, visit https://precinctportal.org/presidential-preference-poll.

Hatch said Weber County will handle the Democratic primary like any other election.

“We have the same processes, the same controls, the same reporting timelines — we just have a smaller number of ballots,” he said.

He said he’s projecting a 35% turnout for the Democratic primary in Weber County.

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