Early voting in Utah primary begins Tuesday

Early voting in Utah's primary elections begins Tuesday and continues through June 18.

Voters can cast their ballots in advance of the June 22 primary in the offices of their county clerks or at other locations.

A list of early voting sites is expected to be posted today on the state elections office website, elections.utah.gov, along with information on the ID now required to vote.

It's too late for Utahns to register to vote in the primary, or for those already registered as a Republican or Democrat to change their party affiliation.

Only registered Republicans can vote in that party's primary, which pits Mike Lee against Tim Bridgewater for the GOP nomination in the U.S. Senate race.

The Democratic primary is open to all voters. In the 2nd District, Utah's only Democratic member of Congress, Rep. Jim Matheson, is being challenged by longtime educator Claudia Wright.

Early voting has been available since 2006, and the number of Utahns participating continues to grow, according to Mark Thomas, office administrator for Lt. Gov. Greg Bell.

Although just 10 percent of the voters statewide who participated in the 2006 primary cast their ballot early, some 40 percent did so in November 2008, Thomas said.

"It's getting to the point where more people will have voted before Election Day than on Election Day," Thomas said.

Still, primaries generally draw a small percentage of voters. Overall turnout for this year's primary is expected to be only about 10 percent of all eligible voters, he said.

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