A steady crowd of dozens snaked through a line at the Wasatch County Senior Center Tuesday morning as voters converged at the county’s only in-person voting location.
Many waited as long as an hour to cast ballots, and locals reported a wide range of issues shaped their decisions.
The economy was a common concern for a lot of voters, including Heber resident Alicia Loveridge-Kennedy.
“My biggest issue has been the economy – just not being able to afford things,” she said. “I’ve got adult children that can’t afford things, as well. They can’t afford to buy a house, they’re living maybe paycheck to paycheck.”
Daniel resident Merry Duggin said she also hopes the newly elected leaders address the cost of living. That’s among several priorities she considered when filling out her ballot.
“For the national race, it was definitely the economy and immigration,” she said. “The local issues, of course, we’ve got a lot of growth going on. We have to start planning and figuring out how we’re going to deal with so many people in the future.”
She said she filled out and returned her mail-in ballot the day it arrived.
“I’m really involved in local politics,” she said. “I was a delegate for the Republican party, so the local issues I was really up on, and I follow the national issues as well. And so, you know, I knew right away what I was going to do.”
As Heber local Bridger Hansen left the voting booth, he didn’t mind telling KPCW his pick for president.
“I really hope that Kamala Harris wins, just straight up,” he said. “It would give me a lot of hope for the future.”
He said for him, the choice was easy.
“Honestly, just democracy, morals, that kind of thing – it’s kind of cut and dry when you really think about it,” he said.
The decision was more difficult for another Heber resident, Samantha Houtz.
“I went back and forth a lot this year,” she said.
She said education and abortion were some of her top priorities in the national race. Locally, she said she wants leaders who will address traffic and the cost of housing.
“Locally, I’m hoping they’ll just make Heber a better place to live,” she said.
Abortion was top-of-mind for voter Dominic Anderson too, along with taxes. He said both issues are important to him as the father of nine.
“I’m pro-life and I’m pro people keeping what money they make for themselves,” he said.
Voters of all ages waited patiently to step into the polling booths. But the waiting doesn’t end once they’ve filled out their ballots: County election officials won’t release any results until at least 9 p.m. in Wasatch County, and it could take days to announce the results of the presidential election.
