Weber County Clerk/Auditor Ricky Hatch told the Standard-Examiner in an email Tuesday that 116,985 ballots have been distributed, meaning not all registered voters in Weber County will receive a ballot for the Nov. 4 general election.

“We have over 132K active registered voters countywide, but voters in Washington Terrace and South Ogden will not receive ballots this election,” he said. “There was only one candidate for each position in each race of these cities, so the cities cancelled their elections.”

He noted that, while turnout countywide is expected to be around 30%, some municipalities are expected to be well above this figure.

“In Ogden Valley City, turnout will likely exceed 70%,” he said. “Ogden Valley City is understandably very active, as they are selecting their inaugural city officials.”

Hatch said that there haven’t been any major changes to ballots since the primary, though voters will still notice the office preparing for the rollout of future state election requirements.

“Weber County chose to early implement portions of House Bill 300,” he said. “Right below the signature line is an area where voters can write the last four digits of their Utah Driver License number, their Utah State ID, or their Social Security Number. This data is optional at this point but will become mandatory in 2029. Also, Utah law now requires that clerks can only count ballots that are in their possession as of 8 p.m. on election night — postmarks no longer count.”

He also noted there are still several coming dates to keep in mind, including:

• The most important date/time is Nov. 4 at 8 p.m. That is the deadline for voters to have their ballots in our possession (either in a drop box or in our office).
• Oct. 24 is the last day a voter can register or update their registration and still receive a ballot by mail.
• Oct. 28-31 are early voting days at the Weber Center from noon to 6 p.m.
• Nov. 4 is Election Day. In-person voting is available from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Weber Center and the Ogden Valley Library.
• Nov. 12 at noon is when the post-election hand-count audit will be conducted at the Weber Center. Public observation is welcome and encouraged. We’d love to have citizens, candidates, and the media come an observe this hand-count audit.
• Nov. 18 is the date by which all election results must be officially canvassed (approved and certified).

According to Hatch, as of Tuesday morning, a trickle of ballots have already come in.

“We’ve received about 3,500 so far, a little more than 3% overall turnout,” he said. “This is in line with initial turnout in prior elections.”

Hatch also reminded the public that the election results will take some time to become official.

“As with all elections, the results that are posted on election night are NOT the official, final results,” he said. “Utah state law provides two weeks after election day for county clerks to double and triple check the results before the results are certified and become official.”

He added that even off-year municipal elections are still worthy of everyone’s attention and that Weber County election officials will treat all ballots with the utmost care.

“Whether it’s a presidential election or a municipal election, we treat every ballot with the same intense level of care, control, and transparency,” he said. “Local elections impact our lives more than any other elections, and because so many people choose not to vote, your vote represents a much higher number of people.”

For more information about ballot protocols and drop-off locations, visit https://www.weberelections.gov/.