This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.
Democrat Mike Weinholtz's gubernatorial campaign is raising concerns that voters in some counties could end up not signing their ballots and have their vote disqualified if they follow the directions in the statewide voting guide.
But a state elections official says the directions are straightforward and safeguards are in place to make sure that, even if a ballot isn't signed, the voter will have an opportunity to have his or her vote count.
The two parties agree: Voters need to make sure to sign their mail-in ballots.
The issue involves the directions in the Utah Voter Information Pamphlet, prepared by elections officials in the lieutenant governor's office; 130,000 copies were mailed throughout the state.
But because ballots can vary somewhat by county, voters in Salt Lake, Davis and perhaps other counties who follow the directions in the pamphlet could seal their ballot before signing it, which could mean it may not be counted.
"The obvious concern would be that, with 130,000 copies of this pamphlet out there for weeks, plus an electronic version, people will have seen these instructions and they don't always match up with what they need to do to have their voice heard and their vote counted," said Kim Bowman, Weinholtz's running mate.
"It's not just unfortunate," Bowman said, "but a failure of the lieutenant governor's office for causing the problem unnecessarily."
But Mark Thomas, director of elections in the lieutenant governor's office, said the Weinholtz campaign is blowing the issue out of proportion for political gain.
"I think it's an attempt to make our office appear in a bad light," Thomas said. "Certainly we're not doing anything to try to purposely confuse voters."
Thomas said the instructions were intended to apply generally. Each ballot can be slightly different, but the directions on the ballot are relatively straightforward. On his Salt Lake County ballot, Thomas said, there are seven places where it reminds voters to sign the ballot.
Even if a voter forgets to sign, Thomas said, the clerk will either contact the voter to come sign the ballot or send the voter a new ballot with a reminder to sign it. Voters can also go to the state elections site and track when their ballots are counted.
"I just don't see voters being confused by this. It's very intuitive," he said. "I don't think it's a major issue that people need to be necessarily concerned about, but we do have the safeguards in place if something slips by."
Voters in 21 counties — all of them except Box Elder, Carbon, Daggett, Emery, Piute, Tooele, Utah and Washington — will automatically receive mail-in ballots. Voters can also vote on Election Day, either at a polling location or at the county clerk's office, depending on the county.
Bowman said it is not the first time that "through incompetence or oversight or whatever" there have been problems in the elections office. Last month, the Democratic Party tried to replace House candidate Jesse Garcia on the ballot after Garcia became ill, but the plan fell through because the party was given the wrong deadline by the elections office.
And Bowman said, when he was administered an oath that candidates are required to take, the office gave him the wrong oath.
"These are problems we never should have to begin with," Bowman said. "So when I am lieutenant governor, I will make elections my top priority, because that's what it's supposed to be under the Constitution."
Twitter: @RobertGehrke