ACLU investigation criticizes '07 Ogden election

The American Civil Liberties Union of Utah says that while Ogden's 2007 municipal election may have adhered to the letter of the law, the election suffered from weakened integrity because many voters believe the spirit of the law wasn't followed, as evidenced by their extra trials in the voting process.

The ACLU recently completed a several-months investigation into alleged irregularities surrounding the Ogden vote.

The 17-page report, titled, "Assuring Voter Confidence," highlights unnecessary voter challenges and poll worker error. For example, one Ogden voter said it took her three trips and seven hours to vote. Other voters said election staff gave them pencils to vote, even though votes cast in pencil are not counted.

The ACLU of Utah had received numerous complaints from Ogden residents following the Nov. 6 election.

"The individuals who contacted our office had serious concerns that their right to vote was compromised," said Marina Lowe, ACLU of Utah staff attorney. "They arrived at the polling place, ready to vote, and were shocked when they were turned away, or when they discovered later that their provisional ballot went uncounted. The right to vote is one of our most fundamental liberties; these individuals felt that their access to that right was unfairly compromised."

In response to these complaints, the ACLU of Utah conducted an investigation that included interviews with Ogden voters, meetings with election officials in Ogden and interviews with the two mayoral candidates.

The report details that 146 voters were challenged, 1,646 provisional ballots were cast, and of those 478 were rejected. The ACLU found 180 of the 478 rejected votes were not counted because the voter was not registered, but the remaining 298 were discounted due to technical or other error.

Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey acknowledged last fall he heard about frustrations from voters, but stressed that Weber County ran the election.

Alan McEwan, Weber County clerk auditor, told the Deseret News last fall that the elections were completed properly.

"We are all aware that there were some challenges, there were some things that were extraordinary," he said, referring to the challenged-voter lists and the high number of provisional ballots used. "We are going to look at the whole process (for the 2008 elections.)"

The ACLU of Utah recommends legislative reform, enhanced election oversight and standardized, higher-quality training for election officials.