This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

Mitt Romney has cast his ballot, but who got his vote?

The 2012 Republican presidential nominee has previously ruled out the major-party contenders, calling Republican Donald Trump a "fraud" and Democrat Hillary Clinton "an awful candidate."

A spokeswoman for Romney, a former Massachusetts governor who now lives in Utah, declined to comment.

Salt Lake County elections officials processed Romney's ballot and that of Ann Romney, his wife, on Monday. They voted absentee, likely because they are not in the state during this election period. They are two of nearly 297,000 Utahns who have already had their votes processed by county clerks.

Romney became a prominent "Never Trump" Republican in March, when he delivered a scathing denunciation of the billionaire celebrity at the University of Utah before Trump locked up the party's nomination. And he has reiterated since that he can't vote for Trump or Clinton.

"It's a matter of personal conscience," Romney said at the Aspen Ideas Festival in June, suggesting he might write in his wife's name, saying she would be "an ideal president" or vote for a third-party candidate.

Libertarian Gary Johnson and independent conservative Evan McMullin have sought Romney's public support, but neither has received it.

And with just a week to go to Election Day, the man who was on the ballot four years ago, appears unlikely to weigh in this time around.