It had considerably less pomp than in past elections, but Utah is officially behind Sen. John McCain, who, you may have heard, lost last month's presidential election to Barack Obama.

Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert called it a "historic day," as each of the five electors, representing Utah's five electoral college votes, signed their ballots for McCain and his vice presidential candidate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

McCain won 63 percent of the vote in Utah to Sen. Barack Obama's 34 percent. It was the Democratic Party's strongest showing in the state since 1968, when Hubert Humphrey won 37 percent of the vote. Utah still gave the Republican candidate his third-largest margin of victory in the country.

Similar ceremonies were held around the country, as 538 electors nationwide cast their ballots. Barring unforeseen events, Obama will receive 365 electoral votes to McCain's 173.

The votes will be counted in Washington, D.C., next month, the anti-climax of a presidential election that spanned nearly two years and cost more than $1 billion.

"I think all of us appreciate the fact that this is an important thing that culminates today as we cast ballots," Herbert said.

He said that the electoral college has been controversial at times, but "has been put in place to keep alive that we are a democratic republic."

Eight years ago, with the electoral battle between then-Vice President Al Gore and the eventual winner, George W. Bush, freshly decided after the Supreme Court's ruling on the Florida recount, the electors gathered in a much larger, well-attended ceremony held in the Capitol rotunda.

Utah, like most other states, is a winner-take-all contest. Under Utah law, the Republican electors, selected at the party's state convention earlier this year, are obligated to cast their votes in line with the popular vote. If a Utah elector tries to break that commitment, he or she is considered to have resigned from the position and another is appointed to fill the vacancy.

The five Utah Republican electors were Attorney General Mark Shurtleff, Utah Republican Party Chairman Stan Lockhart, former state GOP executive director and Utah League of Credit Unions President Scott Simpson, former Republican Party Chairman Richard Snelgrove and former Congresswoman Enid Greene Mickelsen.