Nearly 300 registered voters in Utah County reported never receiving their primary ballot in the mail, according to County Clerk Aaron Davidson, who administers elections there.

And Davidson, who recently lost his Republican primary election, says he is not sure why the ballots never made it.

The U.S. Postal Service’s Office of Inspector General has stepped in to investigate the matter, a spokesperson for the office told The Salt Lake Tribune on Tuesday.

“We’re still in the investigative phase, and we don’t believe that [with] the disparity between the wins and losses … it would have affected any specific race,” Davidson told officials tasked with certifying election results at a Utah County Board of Canvassers meeting last week.

“Sure, this time,” Utah County Commissioner Skyler Beltran responded, adding, “Thankfully, they had other means of voting.”

In the days following Utah’s June 23 primary election, Davidson said “about two dozen people” contacted his office to say their ballot did not arrive in their mailbox. All of the calls came from voters living in the same area of Eagle Mountain.

After consulting Utah County Attorney Jeffrey Gray, Davidson said his office sent emails to the almost 12,000 voters in House District 50. Republican Rep. Stephanie Gricius, a past critic of how Davidson has managed the county’s elections, represents the district but did not have a primary challenger this year.

“We have received a number of reports from voters in your area stating that they did not receive a ballot in the mail before this last Primary Election that just happened,” the emails read. “Our records show that a ballot was sent to you, and I am working to understand how widespread this issue may have been.

“Could you please reply to this email with a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to let us know whether you received your ballot in the mail?”

In the weeks since, Davidson told The Tribune, 294 people responded, “No.”

The majority of those replies were concentrated in two precincts, where approximately 1,100 ballots were sent. But voter turnout throughout Eagle Mountain, according to data Davidson shared, was 13.1% — less than half the countywide rate of 27%.

“I want to assure you that the USPS Office of Inspector General is actively investigating this matter,” wrote Christopher Paige, a public information officer for the USPS OIG. “While we are unable to share specific details about the scope of ongoing investigations as a matter of protocol, our commitment to protecting the mail and maintaining the integrity of postal processes remains steadfast.”

Ryan Cowley, who oversees elections in Utah under Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson’s direction, wrote in a statement, “We are aware of the Utah County clerk’s concern and look forward to what the USPS finds.”

Audits of Utah’s elections have repeatedly found voting by mail to be secure and largely reliable. Utah voters widely use and trust the system.

But USPS has warned that voters planning to vote through the mail should cast their ballots early to avoid their being delivered past the deadline.

That warning especially applies in Utah, where lawmakers voted to disallow counting ballots postmarked the day before Election Day, instead requiring that they arrive before polls close.