Duchesne County is among 4 Counties at the heart of an election debacle that will likely affect the way election mail is postmarked in rural Counties in the future. The Utah Elections Office announced the results of an official recount of ballots, requested by candidate Melvin Brown, in the Utah House District 53 race this week concluding that candidate Logan Wilde received 2,492 votes versus Melvin Brown with 2,483 votes. According to Lt. Governor Spencer Cox, concern arose in the counting of 64 Republican ballots in House District 53 from Morgan, Summit, Rich and Duchesne Counties that were postmarked on election day and were, therefore, disqualified. A close review determined that it is possible that some voters believed they had met the deadline by submitting their ballot to the mail the day before the election but that it was after the rural postmarking deadline in that County for that day. After meeting with county clerks and the Postmaster General, Lt. Governor Cox determined that there is no way to know if the ballots in question were mailed the day before the election, as required by law, and so the ballots could not be counted. It is unknown how those ballots would have changed the outcome of that race, however, this example has shown the potential impact rural postmarking could have on future elections. Lt. Governor Cox is encouraging the legislature, the U.S. Postal Service and election officials “to work together to find a solution to this matter.”
