Elections

Last week Summit and Wasatch Counties Clerks certified their results for the 2020 election and both counties reached record voter turnout.

Between the COVID-19 pandemic and a highly contested presidential race, this year’s election was anything but ordinary.

Despite all the obstacles the pandemic presented, Summit County Clerk Kent Jones said the county had record voter turnout.

“I've never seen it this high before,” Jones said. “It's been a unique election right from beginning to end.”

Summit County residents showed Tuesday that they’re mostly a Blue enclave within Utah, in terms of voting for national and state races.  

It’s no surprise that Utah went for President Donald Trump, who garnered 58 percent of the vote compared to 38 percent for Joe Biden.

But in Summit County, Biden and running mate Kamala Harris beat Trump and Vice-President Mike Pence by nearly a two-to-one margin.

According to the partial results tallied on Tuesday, Summit County residents cast their ballots for Democrats in the two major Utah House races covering the county.

But their Republican opponents are in the lead, based on voter support in areas outside Summit.     There’s a relatively close race in House District 54, which encompasses Park City and Wasatch County.

Almost all of Summit County falls into House Districts 53 and 54.  The incumbents, Logan Wilde and Tim Quinn, respectively, retired this year, leaving open contests for their positions.

In Summit County, the voting results so far for local School Board races show the chairman of the Park City School Board easily fending off a write-in challenge; and a fairly narrow race for a seat on the South Summit School Board.    

The vote totals were issued Tuesday night by the County Clerk’s Office, where staffers are now under quarantine.   They counted some 18,000 ballots, received through last Friday.

Tuesday’s primary was an all-mail election, meaning no in person voting took place. Preliminary results are in from Wasatch County although there are still as many as 3,700 ballots that may be counted.

The four Republican candidates vying for the first congressional district seat, held by outgoing Representative Rob Bishop, participated in a debate on Tuesday.

The four Republican candidates vying to represent the party in Utah’s Gubernatorial elections participated in a debate Monday evening at the University of Utah. The candidate's shared their responses to the police brutality protests occurring across the nation.

The Utah Debate Commission hosted the four Republican candidates vying to represent the party in Utah’s Gubernatorial elections. The four candidates participated in a debate at the University of Utah on Monday evening.

The two democratic candidates for Utah’s 1st Congressional District participated in a debate held by the Utah Debate Commission on Monday. The two Republican candidates for the seat will debate Tuesday afternoon.  

As we’ve reported, Logan Wilde, a Republican who represents part of Summit County in the state legislature, is stepping down to take a role in the Governor’s office.

Thursday evening marked the closure of election filing for Wasatch County races.

The filing window for national, state and local races in Utah for  election year 2020 opens on Friday, March 13th.    The filing period runs until 5 p.m. on Thursday March 19th.

In Summit County, three seats on the County Council are on this year’s ballot.   Seat C is currently held by Kim Carson, who has said she isn’t running for re-election.     The other two Council Members, Doug Clyde in Seat B and Roger Armstrong in seat A, have said they are seeking another  term.

The annual Wasatch County Republican Party Lincoln Day breakfast took place last Saturday. Candidates for governor delivered their messages to local members of the GOP.