Utah County's election gaffe

Utah County Clerk/Auditor Bryan Thompson and elections coordinator Sandy Hoffman likely had the mother of all headaches on Tuesday. The county elections office vastly underestimated voter turnout and consolidated large numbers of polling places for Tuesday's Western States Presidential Primary, basing the decision on voter turnout in 2000.

This resulted in long waits — some voters reported standing for 2 1/2 hours — and difficulty finding polling places. Some voters went to three or four polling places before locating the correct one. Delays in voting also occurred because unaffiliated voters had to register as Republicans at the poll to vote on the Republican ballot.

The consolidation plan was approved by the Utah County Commission upon the recommendation of the election supervisor and the county clerk. It reportedly saved the county some $50,000. After Tuesday's fiasco, it's $50,000 the county should have spent. Voters should not have to tolerate such a botched process.

Estimating turnout based on the 2000 primary election was a flawed strategy for several reasons. Utah never before has been a player in what was essentially a national primary election. That energized a lot of voters.

Also, polling and the election results themselves indicated overwhelming support for Republican Mitt Romney, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and a favorite son since running the successful 2002 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.

Meanwhile, Democrat Barack Obama, who posted a solid victory over Hillary Clinton in the Beehive State, has attracted record numbers of youth voters all over the country.

A recent Dan Jones & Associates poll conducted for the Deseret Morning News and KSL-TV showed 67 percent of Utahns intended to vote. Actual turnout wasn't quite that high, but significant numbers of Utahns turned out for the election.

The Utah County Clerk/Auditor's Office has limited resources to conduct elections, but it needs to keep in mind that it is largely serving a generation of people accustomed to immediate gratification, whether they're buying fast food, obtaining cash from the ATM or conducting a Google search.

Thompson and Hoffman have apologized and taken responsibility for the error. That's to their credit. But they must also acknowledge that Utah County voters will expect substantial improvement on Election Day, Nov. 4.