Swensen's office a circus

If nothing else, the political circus that is Salt Lake County nowadays has got people interested in voting.

In the past four days, the county clerk's office has received more than 34,000 mail-in voter registration forms. Hundreds more people have come to the office personally to register.

"We have just been bombarded," County Clerk Sherrie Swensen said. "It's bigger than anything we've ever seen. We've got every available person inputting" the information into the computers. . . . It's going to be an amazing turnout, I think."

Swensen has her work cut out for her. In addition to the deluge of voter registration forms, she has to deal with the withdrawal of two mayoral candidates, the Green Party's Diana Lee Hirschi and Republican incumbent Nancy Workman, and the still-uncertain situation with Ellis Ivory.

Ivory is a declared write-in candidate that the county Republican Party has certified as its official candidate in the wake of Workman's withdrawal. But Swensen isn't going to put him on the ballot until she hears from county and state attorneys that Workman's doctor's note saying she is "disabled" and the party certification of Ivory pass legal muster.

She was hoping for a decision Thursday. Then Friday. It may come today but may not until next week.

"We're just trying to prepare for we don't know what," Swensen said.

The clerk has brought in numerous temporary employees to help with the situation. Her regular employees and aides are working overtime. She herself is, shall we say, just a bit busy. At the end of the day Thursday, she realized that between one thing and another, all she had had to eat was a protein shake and a candy fireball.

"As far as Pilates and that, forget it," said the avid exerciser.

Things with Ivory have become more complicated with a letter state Democratic Party Chairman Donald Dunn delivered to Swensen Friday, outlining various legal objections to Ivory becoming the GOP candidate.

"It's just more complex than you could imagine," she said.

Dunn has said the Democrats may sue if Swensen (a Democrat herself) puts Ivory on the ballot.

"Citizens are entitled to know their elections are fair and that the law is being followed," he said. "We believe in the rule of law."

Dunn said the situation of Dave Watson, a former county commissioner who was arrested for cocaine possession and subsequently withdrew from the ballot and was replaced by the county Democratic Party, is different because "he had drug and alcohol problems."

The Republicans did not challenge the Democrats' action in that case.

Workman faces two felony charges alleging she misused public funds.

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E-mail: aedwards@desnews.com