Will voter confusion skew school tallies?

Some school board members were given a scare in Tuesday's primary.

In Tooele, incumbent Julia Holt and challenger Gary W. Steadman emerged from the primary, each with 45 percent of the vote in the District 2 race. In the District 3 race, incumbent David Gillette emerged from the primary with 40 percent of the votes but was second to challenger Debbie Chapman's 53 percent.

The Granite District 2 race with incumbent Patty Sandstrom, Connie L. Anderson and Patrick Tregeagle was too close to call, with more than three-fourths of the precincts counted.

Salt Lake school board candidate Heather Bennett easily advanced to the final election with 64 percent of the vote in the District 5 race. She will face incumbent Jan Clemmer, who received 24 percent of the votes, in November, according to unofficial results.

In Salt Lake County, there was some concern whether the closed Republican primary created confusion on who was eligible to vote and discouraged Democrats and independents from going to the polls. Some school board members questioned whether that could skew results.

Jordan Board of Education member Jane Callister, who was not running for re-election Tuesday, says election judges at her polling place indicated those wanting to vote would need to fill out forms declaring they were Republicans. That was wrong; any registered voter can vote in a nonpartisan school race.

Granite Board of Education President Sarah Meier, who was challenged in Tuesday's primary, worried Democrats would think they couldn't vote Tuesday. She says she called the county clerk's office with the concern and hopes that election judges were properly trained.

"I'm a little bit sick about how many people didn't go to the polls," Meier said, adding she and a friend decided this morning, "if we get elected, I guess we get elected by conservative Republicans."

But Salt Lake County officials said they had no complaints about voters being turned away.

Meanwhile, in Tooele, incomplete results showed voters giving overwhelming support to a $28 million bond. The money would be used to build a new elementary school, a junior high school, additions and remodeling at Grantsville Middle School, and for a new alternative/adult education center in the rapidly growing district.

The primary election was a busy one for school boards.

Voters cast ballots in eight primary races in Salt Lake City, Jordan and Granite districts. New board seats are being added in districts with over 10,000 students: Nebo, Ogden, Provo, Tooele, Box Elder, Cache and Washington. Jordan, Weber, Granite and boards of other larger districts were bumped from five- to seven members two years ago.

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com