PROVO, Utah — The Utah County Clerk’s Office sent notices in thousands of voters’ ballot packets that incorrectly tell first-time voters that they must provide a copy of their identification or their ballot may not be counted.
In an unknown number of instances, the message about identification being required was also sent to residents who had voted previously.
“It’s just a clerical mixup and some miscommunication and people got it who probably didn’t need to,” Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson said in an interview. “It wasn’t anything mischievous; it wasn’t anything nefarious. It was just a misunderstanding.”
What you need to know about Amendment A on your ballot:
A flyer was supposed to be included in the ballot packet of certain first-time voters, informing them that, “as a first-time voter, you must provide a photocopy of your ID with your voted ballot.” Then, in bold text, it reads: “If you do not include ID, your ballot may not be counted.”
For some — those who registered to vote with a third party, such as groups gathering signatures on initiative petitions — that may be true. If they didn’t provide identification, they are required to do so in order to vote by mail, according to the Utah Elections Handbook from the lieutenant governor’s office, which oversees elections statewide.
But it is not true for anyone who registered at the clerk’s office, for example, or when they got a drivers license. Those people had to prove their identity at the time. Clerks are instructed in the handbook to compare the voter registration against the drivers license database — done by punching one key — and, if they match, no other ID is required to vote by mail.