This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2007, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
OGDEN - Weber County elections officials now say it will be Tuesday before they count the 500-plus provisional ballots cast in Ogden's mayoral and council races - the same day they plan to count nearly 900 absentee ballots.
Hanging in the balance is the mayoral race between Mayor Matthew Godfrey and Councilwoman Susan Van Hooser. Also affected: the council race between Sheila Aardema and Blain Johnson.
Godfrey led Van Hooser by 181 votes, and Aardema led Johnson by 18 votes on Election Day, but the extraordinary number of provisional and absentee ballots could change the outcomes.
Provisional ballots are paper ballots cast by voters who are challenged at the polls or whose names don't show up on poll workers' lists of registered voters.
Provisional ballots are counted if the voter is registered in Utah, was able to show proof of identity and address at the poll, and voted the same ballot that was available in his or her precinct.
Gloria Berrett, county elections administrator, said Friday afternoon that she and County Clerk Alan McEwan, have decided to seek legal advice concerning the ballots. She declined to say why advice is being sought.
However, election workers plan to continue working through today and on Monday, a legal holiday, to scrutinize provisional and absentee ballot envelopes. They want to ensure that only those verified as legitimate will be counted.
The Ogden City Council is poised to approve the final vote totals Tuesday night, but the county technically has 14 days to give the tally to the city, Berrett said.
Awaiting other Weber results
Ogden's aren't the only races in Weber County cities still in limbo. In Hooper's election, a 14-vote gap separated the two candidates for mayor and a 20-vote margin separated the candidates in a council race. Two Farr West City Council candidates were eight votes apart, two Harrisville City Council candidates were 24 votes apart, two North Ogden candidates were 64 votes apart and two South Ogden candidates were 74 votes apart. In Uintah, 14 votes separated two candidates for council, there was a 31-vote gap between two candidates in Washington Terrace. In West Haven, nine votes separated two candidates and a third was 30 votes behind that.