CACHE COUNTY – It’s Election Day in Cache County and local residents appear inclined to participate in healthy numbers in municipal balloting throughout the county.
As of Nov. 3, more than 15,470 mail-in ballots had been returned to the Cache County Clerk’s office. Assuming that all of those votes are validated, that number of ballots would represent a 30 percent turnout even before in-person voting begins on Election Day.
With approximately the same number of registered voters during the Aug. 12 primary, the final ballot count in those contests was about 13,600, for a turnout of 27 percent.
Here in Cache County, 13 of the area’s 19 municipalities will hold elections on Nov. 4, including Clarkston, Hyde Park, Hyrum, Lewiston, Logan, Millville, Newton, Nibley, North Logan, Providence, Richmond, Smithfield and Wellsville.
In most of those local races, candidates are vying to win the posts of mayor and members of city councils.
Under a recent change to state law, postmarks will no longer be accepted as proof of timely ballot submission. For a ballot to be counted in the municipal election, it must have arrived at the Cache County Clerk’s Office not later than 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 4.
Unlike previous years, even if a voter visits his or her local post office in Election Day to have their ballot envelope time-stamped, it will not be viewed as valid unless it physically arrives in the county clerk’s office by the 8 p.m. deadline.
Cache County Clerk Bryson Behm explains that in-person voting on Tuesday, Nov. 4 will be at the Cache County Event Center at 490 South, 500 West in Logan.
On Election Day, voters can also return their ballots before 8 p.m. at drop box locations in the Cache County Administration Building and the Cache County Clerk’s Office (both at 179 North Main Street in Logan) and on the campus of Utah State University at 890 North, 900 East.