Box Elder County commissioners who voted for data center project trailing in primary voting

BRIGHAM CITY — The two Box Elder County commissioners on the ballot this cycle who voted for the controversial data center project in the county are trailing their primary challengers, according to unofficial and incomplete returns.

According to vote totals released late Tuesday night, County Commissioner Lee Perry, who holds the seat B post, was trailing challenger Nathan Tueller in the race for the Republican nomination. Tueller had 4,280 votes to 3,753 for Perry, a 53.3%-46.7% split.

Similarly, in the GOP race for the seat A post, challenger Vance Smith had 4,165 votes to 3,849 for incumbent County Commissioner Boyd Bingham, a 52%-48% split.

Around 1,000 ballots were left to count after the last batch counted Tuesday night, according to Box Elder County officials.

Tyler Vincent, the third commissioner, also voted for the Stratos Area Project data center proposal, but he's not on the ballot this cycle.

With the campaign in the homestretch, Perry had said the data center project was on the minds of many voters. Both Perry and Bingham voted in favor of two resolutions on May 4 permitting the data center proposal envisioned by O'Leary Digital and Utah's Military Installation Development Authority to proceed despite the loud opposition of many.

The long-range proposal, which has sparked concern from some worried about its potential environmental impact, calls for a data center in the Hansel Valley area of Box Elder County and development of up to 9 gigawatts of power-producing capacity to serve it.

Both Perry and Bingham defended their votes for the data center plans, saying Box Elder County officials had limited sway in the matter, given earlier approvals by Utah's Military Installation Development Authority. The best they could do, they have argued, was to insert provisions into the accords protecting the county and establishing guidelines for development.

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