What to expect in Utah on Election Day?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Utah voters will vote for all federal and state offices, including president, Congress, governor, state Legislature and others in the Nov. 5 general election.

Democratic Vice President Kamala HarrisRepublican former President Donald Trump And half a dozen third party candidates They are vying for Utah’s six electoral votes to replace the outgoing Democratic President Joe Biden. It’s been 60 years since a Democratic presidential candidate won Utah.

GOP Congressman John Curtis, Democrat Caroline Gleich and independent candidate Carlton Bowen are vying to replace Republican U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, who declared himself last year. will not run for a second term.

He is running for re-election against Republican Gov. Spencer Cox, Democratic State Rep. Brian King and three other candidates on the ballot. Cox received 64% of the vote in 2020.

Utah’s four all-Republican-held congressional seats are up for election, including the 3rd District seat Curtis is leaving to run for the Senate.

Two constitutional amendments are on the ballot, but votes for or against them will not be counted after state courts struck down the measures. However, both amendments remain on the ballot to ensure printing and other election dates remain on track. a change one that would allow state lawmakers to rewrite citizen-approved initiatives, and the other asked voters to consider changing how state income tax revenues are spent.

Polls in Utah will close at 22:00. Elections in Utah are conducted predominantly by mail, and Absentee ballots are sent to all registered voters, It can be returned to a PO box or by mail. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by November 4, the day before Election Day. Utah is counting primary votes ahead of Election Day.

Utah counted a third of its votes after Election Day in 2022, with those additional votes adding a 4 percentage point lead in Democrats’ favor. This is a significant change from previous elections, when Republicans increased their margin of victory by half to almost a full percentage point. The main counties to watch for additional votes are Davis, Salt Lake and Utah.

Utah’s mandatory recount provision kicks in when vote margin occurs is equal to or less than 0.25% of the total number of votes cast for each candidate.

Utah was solidly Republican. Lyndon Johnson was the last Democratic presidential candidate to win the state in 1964.

Still, Utah continues to watch. As the state’s Mormon population declinesUtah has become more diverse. And some of the state’s Mormon voters reluctantly embraced Trump. Although Trump won Utah by margins of 18 and 20 percentage points in 2016 and 2020, he performed well below previous GOP candidates who carried the state by margins of about 30 to almost 50 points from 2000 to 2012.

The AP does not make predictions and will only declare a winner when it determines that there is no scenario that would allow the trailing candidates to close the gap. Unless a race is called, the AP will continue to cover any newsworthy developments, such as candidate concessions or victory declarations. In doing so, the AP will announce that it has not yet declared the winner and explain why.

Here’s a look at what to expect in the 2024 elections in Utah:

Election Day

5 November.

Survey closing time

22:00 ET.

Presidential electoral votes

Awarded to 6 statewide winners.

Notable races and candidates

President: Harris (D) vs. Trump(R) vs. Jill Stein (Green) vs. Chase Oliver (Libertarian) vs. Cornel West (no affiliation) and three others.

U.S. Senate: Curtis (R) vs. Gleich (D) and another.

Governor: Cox (R) with Smith King (D) and three others.

Other interesting breeds

U.S. House, State Senate, State Assembly, attorney general, auditor, state Board of Education, treasurer, and ballot measures.

Past presidential results

2020: Trump (R) 58%, Biden (D) 38%, AP race call: Tuesday, November 3, 2020, 11:07 PM ET.

Voter registration and participation

Number of registered voters: 2,025,754 (as of October 21, 2024). About 14% are Democrats, 50% are Republicans and 29% are independents.

Voter turnout in the 2020 presidential election: 80% of registered voters.

Voting before Election Day

Votes cast before Election Day in 2020 and 2022: Nearly all votes were cast by mail.

Votes cast ahead of Election Day 2024: See AP Pre-Vot tracker.

How long does vote counting take?

First votes reported, November 3, 2020: 10:01 PM ET.

By midnight ET: About 63% of the total votes cast have been reported.

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Associated Press writer Maya Sweedler contributed to this report.

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