Early voting a hit with Utahns

Utahns who took advantage of the opportunity to vote early this year aren't just trendsetters. They may well be record setters. According to the state elections office, some 70,000 early ballots had been cast by Friday afternoon. Early voting was scheduled to continue in Salt Lake County on Saturday, which means the number will be higher yet by the time you read this.

State election officials say some 10 percent of registered voters cast early ballots, which may be higher than in any other state (in terms of percentage) in the first year of early voting. People who cast their votes early got the advantage of shorter waits to vote. County clerks are hoping that early voting will result in shorter lines on Election Day as well. There are fewer electronic machines than there were punch-card balloting stations in past election, and Utahns will be unfamiliar with the new touch-screen voting machines, which may increase waiting times at polling places on Tuesday.

The good news is, the touch-screen voting machines are very simple to use. Regular users of computers, automatic teller machines or self-checkout stations at grocery stores will find these machines a snap. People who are not technologically savvy should be pleasantly surprised at how simple the machines are to use. Voters should appreciate the opportunity to double-check their selections before submitting their ballot.

The success of Utah's early voting is likely due to a handful of factors. Some people cannot stand to wait in long lines, so they opted to vote early. Others believed they would require assistance, so they took advantage of the early voting window when polls were less crowded. Still others may have been charmed by the clever television commercials featuring a pajama-clad Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert, who encouraged Utahns to vote early. The lieutenant governor runs the state elections office. Still others were just curious how the machines worked.

Whatever the reason, Utah's first foray into early voting has been more successful than many pundits had expected. Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen expanded early voting times and added voting stations to accommodate the high turnout. The final early vote count will not be available until polls close on Saturday.

But credit hardworking county clerks, election judges and the state election office for managing a significantly greater workload than usual. Between the switch to electronic voting machines and the addition of early voting, it's been a considerable challenge. The true test comes Tuesday, when the state's first large-scale use of touch-screen voting machines occurs. Stay tuned.