{"id":2292438,"date":"2024-07-11T07:15:01","date_gmt":"2024-07-11T11:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utahns-say-their-votes-were-tossed-after-ballots-sent-to-vegas\/"},"modified":"2024-07-11T07:18:08","modified_gmt":"2024-07-11T11:18:08","slug":"utahns-say-their-votes-were-tossed-after-ballots-sent-to-vegas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utahns-say-their-votes-were-tossed-after-ballots-sent-to-vegas\/","title":{"rendered":"Utahns Say Their Votes Were Tossed After Ballots Sent To Vegas"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futahns-say-their-votes-were-tossed-after-ballots-sent-to-vegas%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2292438&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Camille Topham, \u200da resident of Iron County, Utah, encountered \u2064a problem with the state&#8217;s universal\u200c mail-in \u2062voting system when her family&#8217;s ballots were not postmarked in time to be \u200dcounted \u200cin the \u2062June 25 primary elections. This issue affected hundreds\u200c of voters in several southwestern Utah counties, due \u2064to a change in mail processing that caused ballots to receive postmarks after the deadline. \u2064Despite efforts to address\u200c the discrepancy,\u2062 including a delayed vote certification and a recount in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/super-tuesday-six-things-to-watch-in-california\/\" title=\"Key points to observe on Super Tuesday in California\">contested congressional race<\/a>, some voters felt disenfranchised and called\u200c for their ballots to be counted. The situation highlighted potential pitfalls of mail-in voting systems and the need for better communication between election officials and postal services to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/anheuser-buschs-u-s-marketing-chief-to-resign-following-dylan-mulvaney-disaster\/\" title=\"Anheuser-Busch&#039;s US Marketing Chief to Step Down After Dylan Mulvaney Fiasco.\">prevent\u2064 similar issues<\/a> in the future. <\/p>\n<p>If you would like to \u200dread more,\u200c please click the button below.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Camille Topham is your typical American voter who sought to cast her vote in Utah\u2019s June 25 primary elections.<\/p>\n<p>Using the Beehive State\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Election_administration_in_Utah\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">universal mail-in voting system<\/a>, the Iron County resident and her family <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/MMplr#selection-1511.0-1511.14\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly<\/a> deposited their ballots into a local post box on June 23. Given that this was a day before voters are required by state law to have their mail ballots postmarked to be counted, Topham was surprised to later receive a letter informing her and her family their ballots would not be tabulated because they were not postmarked by the specified deadline. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was shocked,\u201d Topham <a href=\"https:\/\/ksltv.com\/659422\/iron-county-delays-primary-certification-vote-because-of-ballot-postmarking-issue\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> during Iron County\u2019s Monday commissioners meeting. \u201cI have been voting in Iron County for 33 years, since I was 18. I have never had anything like this happen.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As it turns out, Topham and her family weren\u2019t the only ones who experienced this problem. In the weeks since the election, hundreds of primary electors in Utah\u2019s southwestern counties have come forward claiming their votes weren\u2019t counted due to the aforementioned postmark issue, despite their alleged compliance with state law.<\/p>\n<h2>What Happened<\/h2>\n<p>The problem first arose late last week when Iron County Commissioner Paul Cozzens <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stgeorgeutah.com\/news\/archive\/2024\/07\/07\/tds-iron-county-commissioner-refuses-to-certify-primary-election-results-amid-controversy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">announced<\/a> in a Friday Facebook post that he learned more than 400 ballots \u201chave not been counted because the [U.S. Postal Service] post marked many of them late by several days.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>County Clerk\u00a0Jon Whittaker reportedly confirmed this to be true and further claimed that neighboring Washington County similarly identified over 300 ballots \u201cin question.\u201d He also \u201cacknowledged that seven additional counties south of Fillmore with zip codes starting with 847 are all affected by this same issue,\u201d but could not verify \u201cthe number of ballots in those counties that may be in question,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stgeorgeutah.com\/news\/archive\/2024\/07\/07\/tds-iron-county-commissioner-refuses-to-certify-primary-election-results-amid-controversy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">St. George News<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The issue appears to stem from how mail is processed by USPS for these nine Utah counties. According to the local <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stgeorgeutah.com\/news\/archive\/2024\/07\/07\/tds-iron-county-commissioner-refuses-to-certify-primary-election-results-amid-controversy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">outlet<\/a>, mail processing for the region \u201chas shifted\u201d from Provo, Utah, to Las Vegas, Nevada, \u201cwhere it is scanned, barcoded, and postmarked.\u201d Whittaker hypothesized this change and \u201cthe maddening 340 mile journey all mail must take to the Vegas sort center and back\u201d produced a situation in which ballots mailed prior to or on June 24 received postmarks after the required deadline.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSome of the ballots Whittaker received had hand stamps dated before June 25, with one as early as June 20,\u201d the report reads. \u201cHowever, despite these early stamps, they were subjected to \u2018Vegas cancellations\u2019 because they were processed in Las Vegas after midnight on June 25.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The report defines hand-stamped ballots as those \u201cindividuals bring their ballot to the mail center and request immediate postmarking by the postal carrier.\u201d Whittaker <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stgeorgeutah.com\/news\/archive\/2024\/07\/07\/tds-iron-county-commissioner-refuses-to-certify-primary-election-results-amid-controversy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">claimed<\/a> the \u201cballots he received that were hand-stamped before June 25 were counted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think anybody knew this could happen [or] had any understanding\u201d it could impact as much as \u201cone-third of our state\u2019s counties,\u201d Utah GOP Vice-Chair Kim Coleman told The Federalist. <\/p>\n<p>Coleman said it\u2019s unknown whether this issue has happened on this large of a scale before or how long \u201cthat much of the state has been part of the Las Vegas processing center.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf it\u2019s a recent change that captured more of our state, there should [have been] some notification process\u201d in place so local officials were aware potential issues could occur, Coleman said. <\/p>\n<p>In July 2020, Thomas J. Marshall, USPS\u2019s general counsel and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/flashback-former-ag-barr-initiated-spying-program-on-americans-back-in-1992\/\" title=\"FLASHBACK: Former AG Barr Initiated Spying Program on Americans Back in 1992\">executive vice president<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/local\/md-politics\/usps-states-delayed-mail-in-ballots\/2020\/08\/14\/64bf3c3c-dcc7-11ea-8051-d5f887d73381_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sent letters<\/a> to leading election officials in 46 states and Washington, D.C., <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/context\/u-s-postal-service-letters-to-states\/b50799f2-25ad-40ed-ba1e-9d648b1814ad\/?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_6\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">warning<\/a> \u201ccertain deadlines for requesting and casting mail-in ballots are incongruous with the Postal Service\u2019s delivery standards,\u201d and that the \u201cmismatch creates a risk that ballots requested near the deadline under state law will not be returned by mail in time to be counted\u201d as specified by states\u2019 respective laws. <\/p>\n<p>Utah was among five states that did not receive such a letter, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/local\/md-politics\/usps-states-delayed-mail-in-ballots\/2020\/08\/14\/64bf3c3c-dcc7-11ea-8051-d5f887d73381_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Washington Post<\/a>. <\/p>\n<h2>No Accountability for Voters<\/h2>\n<p>Cozzens <a href=\"https:\/\/www.stgeorgeutah.com\/news\/archive\/2024\/07\/07\/tds-iron-county-commissioner-refuses-to-certify-primary-election-results-amid-controversy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">pledged<\/a> to vote against certifying Iron County\u2019s election results until the postmark issue was resolved. \u201cToo many voters have vehemently contested the discrepancy, insisting they sent their ballots well before the cutoff date, with some claiming to have mailed them as early as June 22. I would not be keeping my oath of office if I certify that election,\u201d he reportedly said in an interview with local media outlets. <\/p>\n<p>While the vote to certify Iron County\u2019s election results was originally scheduled for Monday, the locality\u2019s commissioners delayed the vote until Tuesday \u201cto confer with state election officials and see if there is any wiggle room to count [the affected] ballots,\u201d according to <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.md\/MMplr#selection-1705.60-1705.159\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Salt Lake Tribune<\/a>. Utah law <a href=\"https:\/\/le.utah.gov\/xcode\/Title20A\/Chapter4\/20A-4-S304.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">stipulates<\/a> that counties must submit election results to the lieutenant governor \u201cwithin 14 days after the date of the election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a 2-1 decision, the Iron County Commission <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sltrib.com\/news\/politics\/2024\/07\/09\/iron-county-certifies-2024-primary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">voted<\/a> Tuesday evening to certify the locality\u2019s election results, with Cozzens casting the single \u201cno\u201d vote. Commissioner Mike Bleak and Sheriff Kenneth Carpenter, who temporarily assumed the position due to Commissioner Marilyn Wood\u2019s absence, expressed frustration that the 400 votes in question could not be investigated, but voted to certify anyway. Bleak defended his decision by citing the deadline required under state law, while Carpenter expressed concern the county\u2019s \u201c9,000-plus\u201d votes would not be counted if the commission voted against certification.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis sucks,\u201d Bleak <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sltrib.com\/news\/politics\/2024\/07\/09\/iron-county-certifies-2024-primary\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reportedly said<\/a>. \u201cAt the end of the day, we\u2019re a nation of rules that is governed by the rule of law, and in this particular case, the rule of law is very clear and there is no wiggle room.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a statement provided to The Federalist, Cozzens noted how the allegedly disenfranchised voters are \u201cwilling to sign a sworn, notarized affidavit, and many already have, attesting that they did comply with election law.\u201d He also cited <a href=\"https:\/\/le.utah.gov\/xcode\/Title20A\/Chapter4\/C20A-4-S303_2020051220200512.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Utah law<\/a>, which states: \u201cIf it clearly appears to the election officer and board of canvassers that certain matters are omitted or that clerical mistakes exist in election returns received, the election officer shall correct the omissions and mistakes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe right to vote has been paid for by the blood of hundreds of thousands who have come before us,\u201d Cozzens said. \u201cSilencing these voices dishonors their sacrifices and undermines the democratic process.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2>Potential Impact on Contested Congressional Race<\/h2>\n<p>Utah\u2019s USPS postmark debacle is even more concerning when considering its potential effect on the outcome of a hotly contested congressional primary.<\/p>\n<p>Following Iron County\u2019s Tuesday vote, Rep. Celeste Maloy now leads challenger Colby Jenkins in the race to become the GOP nominee for the Beehive State\u2019s 2nd Congressional District by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sltrib.com\/news\/politics\/2024\/07\/09\/headed-recount-rep-celeste-maloys\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">214 votes<\/a>, a 0.2-point margin. Utah law permits candidates who lost by a 0.25-point margin or less to request an official recount after the state conducts its canvass, which is expected to occur on July 22. <\/p>\n<p>Speaking with The Federalist Tuesday morning, Jenkins campaign manager Greg Powers indicated Jenkins will file a request for a recount after the state\u2019s canvass is complete, at which point the campaign will try to have the uncounted ballots in question adjudicated. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s likely that there would be a legal challenge [from voters] to make sure that those votes are counted,\u201d Powers said. \u201cWin, lose or draw, we\u2019ll accept whatever the result is, but we just want to make sure all the votes are counted.\u201d <\/p>\n<h2>Pitfalls of Mail-In Voting<\/h2>\n<p>Powers noted how Utah\u2019s primary conundrum exposed the flaws with its all-mail voting system. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWith all-mail voting, we\u2019re counting on the Post Office, and the Post Office is notoriously a giant federal government bureaucracy that\u2019s not running efficiently,\u201d Powers said. \u201cWe\u2019ve turned our elections over to it, and now we see the consequences of that.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re a few hundred votes away, and there could be hundreds of ballots left out there,\u201d and whether Jenkins wins the seat could \u201chang on whether or not the Postal Service did their job properly,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Powers said the Jenkins campaign believes Utah\u2019s election laws should be changed to where the standard requirement is electors voting \u201cin person\u201d on \u201cpaper ballots\u201d on Election Day.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you need an absentee ballot for some reason for that year, you can request one individually with cause,\u201d Powers said. \u201cBut having the Postal Service be in charge of this? No.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Registered Utah voters are automatically sent a mail ballot ahead of any given election, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/ballotpedia.org\/Election_administration_in_Utah\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ballotpedia<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Neither House Speaker Mike Schultz nor Senate President J. Stuart Adams responded to The Federalist\u2019s requests for comment on whether they believe the problems in Utah\u2019s June primary demonstrate the pitfalls associated with an all-mail voting system. Neither official responded when pressed if they plan to advance bills in the next legislative session that limit mail-in voting and move Utah toward a traditional in-person model used by other states.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Camille Topham, a typical American voter in Utah, was surprised to find out that her family&#8217;s ballots were not counted in the June 25 primary elections due to a postmark issue. This problem affected hundreds of voters in several counties in the state. The issue stemmed from mail processing in Las Vegas, Nevada, causing ballots mailed before or on June 24 to receive postmarks after the deadline. Despite efforts to resolve the issue, the Iron County Commission ultimately voted to certify the election results, with some officials expressing frustration. This issue could potentially impact the outcome of a closely contested congressional race. The situation in Utah highlights the pitfalls of an all-mail voting system and raises questions about the reliability of the Postal Service in handling elections. There are calls for changes to Utah&#8217;s election laws to limit mail-in voting and move towards a more traditional in-person voting model<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2292439,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/free-photo-of-ballot-drop-box-in-the-america.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[9807,32360,32111,5764,4351],"class_list":["post-2292438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ballots","tag-election-fraud","tag-las-vegas","tag-utah","tag-voting"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/free-photo-of-ballot-drop-box-in-the-america.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2292438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2292438"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2292438\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2292439"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2292438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2292438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2292438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}