Hello John,
Nat here, the Democracy Policy Associate for Stewardship Utah, with some upsetting news. This morning, we learned about a new attempt by the Utah legislature to make access to voting more difficult.
Tomorrow afternoon, the Government Operations Interim Committee is holding a hearing on a bill that would make it so election officers must receive ballots before polls close on election day and would require ballot boxes to be located no more than a 60-minute drive from 95% of registered voters in the election officers jurisdiction.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because last session over 4,000 Utahns joined together to stop HB 214, a disturbingly similar bill focusing on when ballots must be turned in. This time, they are attempting to sweeten the deal by requiring ballot boxes be located no more than a 60-minute drive from 95% of voters, but we know that won’t cut it in rural Utah.
If approved this bill would make voting far more difficult for rural communities, not easier. You may already know that over 90% of Utahns vote by mail, and for those of us who live along the border of the state, mailing our ballots can be quite an adventure.
Voters who live in the Utah portion of the Navajo Nation will sometimes have their mail sent to Arizona to be processed, before being sent to Salt Lake City, and then down to the San Juan County Commissioner’s office. Similar journeys happen along northern Utah, with mail passing through Wyoming before reaching its destination. Because of these routes, mail delivery timing can be inconsistent, and is something Utahns have zero control over.
Maintaining our current system, ballots must be postmarked the day before Election Day, or dropped off at a ballot box on Election Day, which is the best and easiest option for most Utahns.
