This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Rep. Mel Brown, R-Coalville — who recently lost the GOP primary for House District 53 to Morgan County Council Chairman Logan Wilde by just eight votes — has formally requested a recount.
But in a Saturday letter to Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox, Brown also asks that more than 160 absentee ballots be counted, even though they were disqualified because they were postmarked a day past deadline, which was the day before Election Day.
Brown claims the 160 or so rural Summit County residents in question mailed their ballots on the day before the election. But because the ballots were taken to the Salt Lake City post office for delivery, they were not postmarked that day.
Brown says those votes should nevertheless be counted because they were received by the post office the day before the June 28 election.
Mark Thomas, state elections director, has said that Cox and county clerks were expecting the request and were gearing up to repeat a physical count of the votes, perhaps on Monday or Tuesday.
Thomas has said that after a recount, leaders in the five counties would need to hold a canvass to certify the vote again, and then Cox would need to give final certification.
If the recount confirms Wilde's victory, he will face Democrat Cole Capener in the Nov. 8 general election.
District 53 includes parts of Daggett, Duchesne, Morgan, Rich and Summit counties.