Utah voters shun labels

Guess how most Utah voters are registered: Republican or Democrat?

It's a trick question. The answer is neither. In fact, three of every five Utah voters are registered as "unaffiliated." But they can still vote in Utah's Feb. 5 presidential primaries (or in early voting now under way) but may have to jump through some extra hoops at the polls.

Also, currently registered Democrats or Republicans who might want to vote in the other party's primary — such as Republicans who figure Mitt Romney already has tied up the Utah GOP vote, so they want to vote in the tighter Democratic race — need to jump through other hoops by Tuesday and not wait until Election Day.

Tuesday is the deadline for people now registered with one party to switch to another (or new voters to register), and they must do so by filling out paperwork in person at their county clerk's office. (The "by-mail" deadline for that passed on Jan. 7.)

According to the Lieutenant Governor's Office, 1.04 million Utahns are registered as "unaffiliated," more than all those registered to other parties combined. It says another 538,305 are registered Republicans, 125,992 are Democrats and 1,427 are registered with the Constitution Party. No other parties are currently recognized by the state.

Jason Yocom, chief deputy Salt Lake County clerk, explains what unaffiliated voters must do on Election Day if they want to vote in one of the presidential primaries.

"If they show no party registration, they will be asked in which party primary they would like to participate. If they choose Democratic, they will just be given a ballot for that," he said. "If they choose Republican, that party requires that they fill out a form to affiliate with that party before they are given a ballot."

In short, unaffiliated voters can vote Democratic and still remain unaffiliated. But if they want to vote Republican, they must re-register at the polls as Republican.

Years ago, Utahns did not register by party. They could choose a ballot for either party primary. That changed after some Republican candidates charged they had been torpedoed by Democrats and independents seeking weaker GOP nominees. Also, some candidates prefer party registration because it allows obtaining lists of party faithful for easier, more targeted campaigning.

But independent-minded Utahns often have resisted registering by party anyway, with 60 percent of them still remaining unaffiliated. And complaints about closed party primaries are common.