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OREM — Election integrity has become a hot-button topic nationally since the past presidential election when former President Donald Trump raised false claims about the election being stolen. But where does the Beehive State stand when it comes to election and voting integrity?
To begin answering this question, the Gary R. Herbert Institute for Public Policy at Utah Valley University on Monday held a panel discussion with political and voting experts who presented three reports on Utah's election integrity.
The reports and the discussion focused on Utah's election process, voter access and ballot security, 2022 election results in ranked choice voting contests and the issue of inactive ballots.
Could election fraud happen in Utah?
"Voter Access and Ballot Security," by Kal Munis and Mikelle Dahl, reviewed Utahns' access to the ballot and the security and counting of their ballots once votes are cast.
"Voting on ballot initiatives, voting for our representatives, really constitutes the only means through which most Americans will ever directly participate into the policymaking process," Munis said. "It's no exaggeration to say that preserving the fairness and integrity of the (voting) process is serious and some might even say sacred business."
According to the report, four pillars contribute to successful elections in Utah: a citizen's access to the ballot, tabulating equipment, ballot chain of custody and individual voter responsibility.
In Utah, people can register to vote by mail, in-person or by pre-registering automatically at age 18. Dahl said Utah ranks fifth in the United States for voter access and registration with 77.8% of Utah's voting-age population registered to vote.
An extremely high percentage of Utah voters choose to cast their ballots via mail, the report shows, providing them with easier access to voting and allowing them to complete a ballot at their convenience.
When it comes to casting and counting votes, there are many ways this is done, and methods have had to evolve for the higher volume of ballots cast and the need for faster result tabulation.
Utah uses direct-record electronic and optical scan voting machines — both considered secure voting systems by the United States Election Assistance Commission — and requires each machine and replacement part to be certified by the commission, said the report. Further bolstering security, certified machines are never connected to the internet, making it "impossible" to access them remotely and manipulate election results.
Based upon our review of Utah's election laws and procedures, the Herbert Institute holds utmost confidence in the security of Utah's elections.
– "Voter Access and Ballot Security," by Kal Munis and Mikelle Dahl
Another crucial aspect of a secure election is ballot security and chain of custody — how ballots are handled and transported from polling sites to tabulating locations.
"Without the proper documentation, elections would lose their transparency and trustworthiness to the public because we would not be able to have assurance that the elections were secure," Dahl said. "Utah requires that election officials document the chain of custody for all voting materials as well as equipment."
While the aforementioned steps to ensure election integrity mainly fall into the hands of election officials, the voting public also carries responsibility when it comes to elections, mainly in the sense of providing correct information about themselves.
"Some of the responsibilities that voters have (are), they have to contact (an) election office if their ballot doesn't arrive on time. They have a responsibility to carefully mark, sign and return their ballots on time. They have a responsibility to check their ballot status online or sign up for notifications for when their ballots are mailed, received and tabulated," Dahl said.
Additionally, it is the responsibility of the voter to seek out reputable and verifiable information on the when, where and how of voting, as well as on candidates and policies.
Dahl and Munis agreed the four pillars are what support Utah's elections and, given the safeguards in place, election fraud is unlikely in Utah.
"Based upon our review of Utah's election laws and procedures, the Herbert Institute holds utmost confidence in the security of Utah's elections," said the report.
People can read Munis and Dahl's report, along with others, here.
The summary of UVU professor Alan Parry's research into ranked choice voting emphasizes that transparent presentation of the results of such elections is key and tallies should be released in a round-by-round breakdown to make it easy for voters to understand.
A joint report by Parry and Rachel Hutchinson, senior policy analyst at FairVote, examines the impact of ballots that become inactive due to the voter's choice not being selected as the winning candidate.
