VOTE WATCH: tracking Utah’s election security
Nov 7, 2022, 9:52 AM | Updated: 4:35 pm
When you fill out your ballot this year, you want to know your vote counts. KSL TV has previously investigated and continues to look at elections in Utah.
If you have questions about the voting process, our KSL Investigates Vote Watch team is here to look into any issues you may encounter. Leave your tip here or text or leave a voicemail at 385-707-6153.
Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson, who oversees the election and voting process in Utah, has repeatedly reported and advocated for the integrity of the election process.
“So far, there really hasn’t been anything that anyone has shown us that is actually evidence of voter fraud,” Henderson explained to KSL Investigators. “Accusations are not evidence.”
We can’t talk about election security without talking about personal responsibility. Track your ballot throughout the process at https://t.co/gxFaHkCyGc. Visit https://t.co/jYavxtyzj3 to ensure your voter information is up-to-date and accurate. Most importantly: follow the law. pic.twitter.com/GxiVuJOS2f
— Lt. Gov. Deidre M. Henderson (@LGHendersonUtah) October 24, 2022
KSL investigators looked into Utah court’s public records and found every case of any election code violation prosecuted from 2012 to 2022.
They found only 17 people who had been prosecuted during that time period, with 36 total charges against them.
KSL Investigation finds few cases of election crimes prosecuted in Utah
According to a poll conducted by the Deseret News, 81% of respondents reported confidence in the fairness and accuracy of Utah elections, however, nearly one in five reported wavering faith in Utah election processes.
In an effort to increase voter confidence, cameras have been placed at every unattended ballot drop box.
Despite all these added efforts to protect election integrity, things can go wrong. In Iron County, thousands of ballots were delayed because of a printing issue.
In a statement emailed to KSL, Iron County Clerk Jon Whittaker explained:
“We discovered our ballots were more delayed than we were told. We sent our database to our printer on Sept. 19th. Our printer prepared the ballots and sent them to a Pitney Bowes facility in Las Vegas for mail order sorting on Oct. 14th. Without telling either our printer or Iron County, Pitney Bowes sent the ballots to their Dallas facility on or about Oct. 20th.”
Ballots were expected to go out Oct. 18.
In response to the ballot complications, Iron County announced it will expand days for early voting and has cut ties with the printer.
Votes have already begun to come in, but won’t be counted until polls close.
ELECTION UPDATE: As of 7:00 this morning, statewide turnout is 22.6%
Special shout-out to Iron and Carbon Counties. There’ve been printer delays with their ballots, so they’ve upped outreach and in-person polling. In two days they’ve gone from 1-10.1% and 4.1-14.5% respectively.
— Deidre Henderson (@DeidreHenderson) November 4, 2022
We want to help make sure your vote counts. If you have questions about the voting process, our KSL Investigates Vote Watch team is here to look into any issues you may encounter. Leave your tip here or text or leave a voicemail at 385-707-6153.
