Salt Lake County GOP pushing for mail-in votes

SALT LAKE CITY — Believe it or not, there are a few places in Utah where it's hard to get elected if you are a Republican.

Republicans dominate the Utah Legislature, most county governments and the state's congressional delegation.

But in Salt Lake County, Republicans are the minority party.

Democrats from Salt Lake County hold 19 seats that represent the county, with 11 belonging to Republicans.

In the Utah Senate, eight seats belong to Democrats, with four belonging to Republicans.

Both the Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County mayors are Democrats, and Democrats hold a majority on the Salt Lake County Council.

So when Thomas Wright, chairman of the Salt Lake County Republican Party, says he needs a full-fledged effort to get more Republicans to vote, he means it.

In mid-2009, Wright, the newly elected party chairman, began a movement to get Republicans to permanently vote by mail.

"We've been outworked and out-organized," said Wright, who admits that he's copying the competition.

Salt Lake County Democrats began such a program a few years ago, and continue to make the push.

And Wright says it paid off.

Here's why.

It turns out that the ultimate flexibility offered to voters through voting by mail gets a higher percentage of votes counted come Election Day.

In the 2008 presidential election, voter turnout in Salt Lake County was 71 percent, according to Salt Lake County Clerk Sherrie Swensen. But for those people registered to vote by mail, turnout was 90 percent.

Wright is betting that in a midterm election year, when voter turnout tends to drop compared to a presidential election year, that high vote-by-mail turnout can work to Republicans' advantage.

"We've lost elections in Salt Lake County to Democrats because of vote by mail," Wright said. "My job as chairman is to organize the party to effectively elect Republican candidates."

So the Salt Lake GOP has organized neighborhood walks in which volunteers, armed with clipboards, pens and registration forms are knocking on Republican doors to invite residents to register to vote by mail.

It started with precinct chairmen and has moved to candidates. Senate candidate Mike Lee and House District 2 candidate Morgan Philpot have joined in, Wright said.