Few problems at polls with new ID rules

Election officials say the new statewide mandate requiring voters to present ID before casting ballots presented very few problems in Tuesday's municipal primaries, but dismal turnout may not have put the new rules to the test.

In Salt Lake County, fewer than 28,000 of the nearly 260,000 registered voters made it to the polls. County Clerk Sherrie Swensen said she was disappointed with a turnout rate that fell under 11 percent, but pleased at the lack of issues related to the new ID rules.

"It was definitely a poorer showing than we anticipated," Swensen said after final tallies were completed late Tuesday. "We really didn't hear of any problems with the new voter ID requirements, but we'll have a clearer picture after we complete the canvass."

Swensen's office has a week to make the count official and certify provisional ballots cast during Tuesday's primary. Under the new rules, a voter who did not provide appropriate ID at the poll could still cast a provisional ballot, and make that ballot count by providing identification within five days of the election.

An hour or so before voting ended, poll workers at three voting locations in the Salt Lake Avenues neighborhood reported they had not issued a single provisional ballot due to the new ID rules. Martha Chapman was working as a polling manager at Ensign Elementary School Tuesday evening and said people she talked with were taking the new ID requirement in stride.

"Most of the voters who came in today seemed to be aware that they were going to have to show ID," Chapman said. "A few people were surprised, and a few felt it was … an invasion, but all in all, it wasn't an issue."

Woods Cross City Recorder Alan Low said voters in his area had no problems with the ID requirements, and though they had collected about eight provisional ballots, none were due to the new rules.

"There wasn't a person who came in who wasn't ready with ID," Low said.

Swensen said the low numbers Tuesday likely did not provide much of a test of the new requirements and expects that the November general election, which should draw a bigger number of voters, will be a better indicator.

Voter turnout held to high single digit and low double digit percentages up and down the Wasatch Front, with Layton reporting about 8 percent, Bountiful 9 percent, Provo 10 percent and American Fork 12 percent.

e-mail: araymond@desnews.com