The Salt Lake County Clerk's Office Thursday clarified that embattled county Mayor Nancy Workman — on forced administrative leave from office and facing felony charges of misuse of public money — can withdraw from her re-election race at any time, for any reason.

"A candidate can withdraw even on Election Day simply by filling out an affidavit," chief deputy clerk Jason Yocom said.

Several media outlets, including the Deseret Morning News, have occasionally misstated the correct withdrawal procedure.

But the county Republican Party could not replace Workman on the ballot unless she were dead, certified by a physician as physically or mentally disabled, disqualified for improperly filing or being nominated improperly, or running for U.S. president or vice president.

Workman has said several times that she will not seek a doctor's certification, she has apparently followed all filing and nomination procedures, and she's not running for president or vice president. So, unless one of those conditions changes, the Republicans will not have a candidate if Workman withdraws, and any votes for her would be disallowed.

The general election ballot booklets have now been printed, Yocom said, meaning if Workman withdraws — which she has been under considerable pressure to do, both within and without her party — the clerk's office will have to go back by hand and black out her name on an estimated 3,500-4,200 ballot booklets (700 voting precincts, with five or six voting machines per precinct).

Her name would probably be covered by a sticker stating the candidate withdrew.

"We go to every measure we can to cover the name up when (the booklets) have already been printed," Yocom said.

The problem becomes more complicated as Election Day nears. The voting machines will be delivered to the polling locations about a week before Nov. 2, so if Workman withdrew after that time, the election judges in each location would have to block out the name instead of centrally, in the clerk's office, "a logistical nightmare," Yocom said.

"If it's really late in the game, we would probably just notify the public" through a press release or other means that Workman had withdrawn and that any votes for her — even though her name appears on the ballot — will not count, he said.

The latest Deseret Morning News/KSL poll showed Workman's support at 12 percent, independent Merrill Cook at 20 percent, and frontrunner Democrat Peter Corroon at 43 percent. With those numbers, Corroon would be the winner even if Workman withdrew and all her supporters transferred to Cook.

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E-mail: aedwards@desnews.com