By Myrna Trauntvein
TN Correspondent
Juab County Commissioners moved from the regular public meeting to convene as the Board of Canvassers in order to review and accept the primary election results in Juab County as presented by Tanielle Callaway, county clerk/auditor. “There are 5,441 active registered voters in Juab County,” said Callaway. “There were 2,494 ballots tabulated, with 45.84 percent of the ballots mailed out returned as completed ballots.” She said that the county had had the largest in-person turnout in recent history for the recent primary election, likely because there were several races that were actually to be decided in the primary election. Callaway said that, as required by State code, the following documents outline the Post-Canvass Report of the 2026 Primary Election in Juab County: 1. Summary Result Report, 2. Precinct Level Results (SOVC - Statement of Votes Cast), 3. Public CVR, 4. Lt. Governor’s Office Standardized Canvass Statistics - Outlines ballots counted/ not counted and status, and 5. Audit Certification Report. “In Utah, your local election official is your county clerk,” said Callaway. In the United States, all elections are locally run. Whether a person is voting for the President of the United States, governor of the state, a county commissioner or a mayor everything on the ballot is run by the local election official. “We county clerks provide the election administration in Utah,” she said. “In each county, we present the results to the Board of Canvassers, in our county the county commissioners serve that role, and they then review and accept the results, and that is what certifies the election.” She said the information is then sent to the Lieutenant Governor’s office to become the state’s official results. Callaway said that her office makes every effort to cure ballots that have problems. In many of those cases, it is because the signature is missing or doesn’t match the signature election officials have on record for the voter. State lawmakers had to find a solution to the problem that occurred if the signature on a person’s mail-in ballot did not match their official signature on file. In Utah, they decided to let voters “cure” their ballot. “We notify the voters and tell them that the signature does not match and give them a chance to cure,” she said. There were a few votes that were received too late to be counted. When it comes to listing how precincts voted, she said, there are a few of those where she redacts the vote per candidate. That only occurs if the precinct is small. An individual’s vote can be hidden in a way that they cannot be identified by their ballot. Marvin Kenison, commissioner, made the motion for that as the Board of Canvassers, they certify the vote. Marty Palmer, commissioner, made the second and all voted in favor. The Board of Canvassers adjourned the meeting and returned to the regular commission meeting.
.
|