Ogden City Council likely poised to gain three new faces with majority of ballots counted
Rob Nielsen, Standard-Examiner
The Ogden Municipal Building, shown Thursday, June 29, 2023.OGDEN — Tuesday’s election appears poised to result in at least three new faces on the Ogden City Council.
As of Wednesday around 6 p.m., Alicia Washington held a commanding lead in the at-large Seat A race with 5,183 votes (55.37%) versus incumbent Council member Marcia White, who had 4,178 votes (44.63%).
In the at-large Seat B race, challenger Kevin Lundell held a huge advantage over incumbent Council member Bart Blair with Lundell earning 5,577 votes (59.29%) versus Blair’s 3,830 votes (40.71%).
Weber County Clerk/Auditor Ricky Hatch told the Standard-Examiner in an email Wednesday that most of the results have been accounted for and that around 7,100 ballots that had been deposited in ballot return boxes throughout the day (but before 8 p.m.) on election day would be counted throughout the day Wednesday.
“Our initial posting of election results represent 84% of total ballots cast,” he said. “The updated results that we’ll post later today will represent approximately 99.5% of total ballots cast.”
Updated results were anticipated to be released around 5 p.m. Wednesday, but as of press time — just after 6 p.m. — the results available on the state elections page for Weber County had not been updated since 11:15 p.m. Tuesday night.
Hatch added that election night went smoothly and that this cycle saw a better turnout than many recent municipal elections.
“Turnout was a little higher than we expected but is in range with prior municipal general elections,” he said. “Weber County turnout will be approximately 37%, higher than 2023 (35%) and 2021 (34%) but lower than 2017 and 2019 (both at 40%). It’s significantly higher than 2011 (21%) and 2013 (23%), most likely because we didn’t mail ballots to active registered voters in those elections.”
He said that the public is also adapting quickly to the new design of the ballot envelope which asks for a partial Social Security Number or state ID number to verify identity.
“Well over 90 percent of voters chose to include this optional information on the envelopes,” he said. “A few voters have expressed concern over including these numbers. Whether we like it or not, it’s state law.”
For now, filling this section out is optional, but it will become mandatory starting in 2029.
Hatch also praised the work done by the county’s elections staff.
“I’m proud of the work the elections team has put into this election. Election day was an 18-hour day for them, and they were back at work bright and early this morning to process the ballots received late on Election Day,” he said. “These folks deeply care about fair, secure and accurate elections. Like everyone, they have their preferred candidates, but when they come to work, they leave those preferences at home and do the work they’re trained to do in an unbiased, professional manner.”
For additional results from across Weber County, visit https://electionresults.utah.gov/results/public/weber-county-ut/elections/general11042025.