Utah residents push for online voting


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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is getting serious about the concept of voting online after many people said they'd be more likely to vote if they could do it from their computers.

While the majority is in favor of online voting, political specialists say there may be other issues that need to be resolved first. Salt Lake County clerk Sherry Swenson will be among those studying the issue.

"Anything we can do to make it more convenient for people to vote, I think would be wonderful," Swenson said.

However, elections officials say there really isn't a way to make online voting 100 percent secure and it would make a person's vote anonymous.

"We cannot tie the voter to the ballot," said state elections officer, Mark Thomas. "That is a constitutional provision. And it adds another layer of hurdles we have to overcome."

There were hurdles in the early days of vote-by mail as well. Security challenges were met a few years ago, and today voting by mail is more popular than ever. In 2012, voter participation was 87 percent in Salt Lake county, the clerk says partly because of mail-in voting.

State Senator and Congressional candidate Luz Robles said greater participation might change Utah's political landscape.

"It's another avenue to get people to participate, especially when we have such a hectic life," Robles said. "It's just making it easier for people."

Utah is one of the first states to tackle the issue of online voting in the U.S. Even so, voting on your computer looks like it will be years away.

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Richard Piatt

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