At the time of this publication, it is Election Day in the United States. While this article was written several weeks ago, I would be shocked if the topic of election integrity is not important at the time that you are reading this. Confronted by discussions of our democracy with family and friends, I visited the Salt Lake County Clerk’s office just four weeks shy of the election. This was my experience.
On October 11th, the County Clerk’s election office held a public Logic and Accuracy Test. As defined by the Election Assistance Commission, this process “ensure[s] the election and voting equipment function as expected and accurately count votes as marked”. In simpler terms, the public may verify that the election machines, otherwise known as “automatic tabulation equipment”, count the number of votes received as is objective reality. While the process itself is tedious, two public attendees of the event take part in this process, filling out example ballots to run through the machines and verifying whether they were accurate. This occurs for both in-person polling machines as well as the mailed ballot counter.
After verifying the accuracy of the machines, a question and answer portion began along with a tour of the facility. Concerns ranged from “How are signatures verified?” to “Why isn’t the original source code of the voting machines made public?” Here is what I learned:
- The verification of ballot signatures reviews up to 5 different recorded signatures on-file, and this may include any official signing documents such as a driver's license or filings.
- Any elected or appointed officials, such as the County Clerk or their deputy, are not given keys to ballot storage. Rather, ballot storage access is determined based on experience and tenure at the office.
- All transportation or movement of ballots requires a “buddy” system to ensure security.
- Members of the Salt Lake County Sheriff's Office are deputized by the County Clerk’s office for the protection of ballots. Not any sheriff nor ballot worker may oversee election administration. They must have further documentation supporting their duty to oversee the election.
From my personal experience, I trust and fully endorse Utah elections. All 29 counties in Utah run elections independently of one another, which is a beautiful example of the federalist system that exists within our country to prevent majoritarianism and common conspiracy. Indeed, thousands of counties across the United States run elections independently of one another, making large-scale fraud particularly difficult.
We should continue to ask questions about our election system. Meaning, we must seek to understand both the current guardrails that protect our sacred democracy and how we can improve. Despite what some may claim, asking questions is not an issue. The issue lies in not considering the answers to questions, especially when coming from multiple official sources. As the election is over at the time of this reading, you may feel there is nothing left to learn or contribute. But the great thing about democracy is elections are a constant. Visiting your County Clerk’s office to learn more about the election process is an excellent way to become familiar with how our leaders are elected. And while I hope that everyone reading this is already a registered voter, do so now if you are eligible and haven’t! There’s always another election.
Finally, one of the most underrated features in Utah elections is our ability to TRACK OUR BALLOTS! By signing up for the free BallotTrax program independently managed and contracted by the State of Utah, you can see exactly when your ballot is shipped, returned, and accepted. So, if you or someone you know is concerned about elections, especially here in Utah, don’t disregard their concerns. Listen. Talk. Encourage them to learn about the process, just like I did.