There's a lot at stake in primary, so go vote

Unless Utah voters get a lot more interested in the June 22 primary, for the second election in a row a relatively small number of citizens could be deciding some major offices in this Republican-dominated state.

Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen says absentee and mail-in-only ballots are just trickling in with the primary for governor and 2nd and 3rd congressional districts less than two weeks away.

Of course, last-minute radio and TV advertisements by candidates could spark interest.

"But at this point, I'm guessing only a 10 percent turnout. We could be lucky to reach 15 percent," says Swensen, who oversees the elections for about 40 percent of Utahns.

Utah has not elected a Democratic governor since 1980.

Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, holds the 2nd District now. But he won re-election in 2002 by less than 1 percentage point.

The 3rd District is now held by GOP Rep. Chris Cannon. And it is one of the most Republican-leaning districts in the nation.

In other words, the Republican nominees to be picked June 22 have good chances — in some races, very good chances — of being elected in November.

And despite millions of dollars spent in campaigning, it would be a shame if the new governor and congressmen were picked, in reality, by 10 percent of the voters who bother to cast ballots in 11 days.

"Ever since the Republicans closed their primary in 2002, we've seen a significant drop-off" in voter primary participation, says Swensen, a Democrat.

Part of that could be ignorance, she guesses.

The Legislature, dominated by Republicans, changed the law several years ago to continue the practice of allowing unaffiliated voters — those who are not registered in any political party — to pick up a party registration form at the primary poll site, fill it out as a Republican, and pick up a GOP ballot on Election Day.

If you are registered already as a Democrat or in some minor party, you can't change your party affiliation at the polls. (You can switch your affiliation several weeks ahead of time, if you are that into political planning.) If you want to vote in the June GOP primary and just show up Election Day, too bad. You can't get a Republican ballot.

But by far most Utahns are not affiliated with a party.

"There are 300,000 registered voters in Salt Lake County alone" who fall into that "unaffiliated" category, says Swensen. By comparison, there are only 40,000 registered Democrats in the county, and 89,000 registered Republicans.