3 school districts holding votes
Officials fear turnout could be low Tuesday
Polls are open 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
County officials mailed out polling location notices three weeks ago to every household that had registered voters, according to Sherrie Swensen, Salt Lake County clerk.
Voters can also visit www.clerk.slco.org or call GOTVOTE or 468-8683 for more information. On the Web site, voters can view sample ballots, check their registration and find voting locations and hours.
If a voter registered to vote in Utah but moved elsewhere in the state, they can go to their new polling place and vote via provisional ballot, Swenson said.
"We are hoping all this information will generate a good turnout," she said.
However, election officials are predicting a low turnout, typical of elections this time of year. They are expecting only 7 percent to 10 percent voter turnout on Tuesday.
Swenson stressed that people need to get out and vote, especially since some races are large, such as in the Jordan District. "Truly, every vote counts," she said.
In Jordan District, which is being split into east and west segments, voters will be electing school board members for the new Jordan district on the east side and for the remaining Jordan District on the west side. High interest and controversy spawned by the pending split in the district have generated a lot of interest and many candidates. Only one will be elected from each precinct.
Newly elected board members will take office July 15. From that time until June 30, 2009, there will be three boards of education for the Jordan District: the existing Jordan board, the new east school board and the west-side Jordan board, according to Jordan District officials.
The district officially divides on July 1, 2009. Last November, east-side residents voted to split from Jordan and form their own school district.
Since early spring the transition teams representing the east and west sides have been trying to agree on a plan to adequately split the district's assets and liabilities. A number of proposals have been presented, but no agreement has been reached. The east-side transition team earlier this month declared negotiations at an impasse.
However, Ralph Haws, chairman of the Jordan-west transition team, said Friday, "It takes two to have an impasse. And we haven't declared an impasse."
Mayors and transition teams on the west side, along with several legislators such as Sen. Chris Buttars, R-West Jordan, made it known they would like a special legislative session to discuss issues pertaining to the split. They contend the division of the district's assets is still not complete, and they would like to hold off on the split for three to five years.
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