Utah Loves Mail-in Voting, But The Practice May Be In Jeopardy

Utah is perhaps the reddest state politically in the entire country.

It's been 60 years since there were more Democrats than Republicans in the Beehive State, and 40 years since a Democrat occupied the Governor's Seat.

But there's something quite blue about a new trend emerging in Utah.

It seems Utah really likes mail-in voting.

According to Axios Salt Lake City, of all states that President Donald Trump won in 2020 and 2016, Utah is the only one that allows all elections to be conducted by mail.

Also, recent polling shows Utahns have overwhelming confidence in their election systems.

Axios goes on to say that Republicans nationally have been sowing doubt in voting by mail for years, most recently urging voters to hold their ballots until Election Day. Conservative voters nationally have grown more suspicious of election fraud, according to polling

The Pew Research Center reiterates this fact, saying, "The new national survey by Pew Research Center finds that Republican voters, who already lacked confidence in absentee and mail voting, are now also less likely to say they are very confident that ballots cast in person at polling places will be counted as voters intend."

And yet 90 percent of Utahn say they trust mail-in voting, contrary to their Republican-esque belief system.

So what gives?

Utah Governor Spencer Cox said it has a lot to do with the way the mail-in program is run: "If you do it the right way and you put the right security measures in place, you can make it every bit as secure as Election Day voting," he said.

Cox added that Utah is committed to secure mail-in voting, noting new laws aimed at keeping ballots secure, and adding personnel that he says will keep the "human element" in the voting process.

Plus, Utahns are generally more trusting than others around the country.

But even with Utah citizens trusting the system, lawmakers seem to be behind two new controversial bills aimed at the perceived problem.

One would effectively end the universal option to vote by mail in Utah and another would remove the state from an organization meant to enable voter roll cleanup.

Both bills passed committee and will go to the general floor of the Utah House for a vote.

To learn more, visit our news partner's website, ABC4.com.

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