The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, in a recent statement, says they’re concerned that some Utah counties are not prepared to implement the latest voter options—in particular same-day voter registration.
But representatives for the Summit County and Wasatch County clerks have told KPCW they’re ready for November 6th.
In a press release issued earlier this month, the ACLU said this is the first year for Election Day Registration (or EDR). This means that eligible but unregistered voters can register to vote on Election Day, by casting a provisional ballot.
The ACLU said they conducted a phone survey of the clerk’s offices in eight counties and asked a series of questions. They said that although a majority of the clerk’s offices said that EDR information was posted on their websites, only two actually had the information posted online.
In addition, only a few of the counties could confirm that EDR training was given to their poll works.
The ACLU called upon the Lt. Governor’s office to make sure all counties have the information and resources they need to apply the provision of the law.
At Summit County, chief deputy clerk Kellie Robinson said they already implemented same-day registration during the June primary election. She said poll workers were trained for it, and will be again on October 29th.
Robinson said that for information on EDR, they link to the state website. But the clerk’s website also notes that Voter Assistance Centers—in Coalville, Kamas, Park City and at the Richins Building in the Basin—can offer help, including same-day registration.
We also talked to Wasatch County Clerk Brent Titcomb, who noted that on his homepage, under the section titled “Important Dates” they inform voters about the same-day registration. He also said they intend to train their workers for the procedure.
Both Robinson and Titcomb say to their knowledge, they were not contacted for the ACLU survey—unless it was done incognito.
