SALT LAKE CITY — A Salt Lake County voter is calling for guaranteed vehicle access to the county’s only downtown drop box after an event closed the street beside the city library during this year’s primary election season.
Nathan Musil said he drove to the Salt Lake City Main Library expecting to quickly return his ballot. Instead, he found the street next to the library closed by barricades and said he chose to drive to another ballot drop box.
“It was during rush hour, and it took about an extra 30 minutes,” Musil said.
Musil said he still cast his ballot, but afterward spent weeks sending emails to Salt Lake County asking that it guarantee vehicle access to the downtown drop box during future elections or consider adding another downtown location.
“Events are fun. They make downtown community vibrant, but voting shouldn’t take a backseat to community events,” he said.
Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman said voters were never without access to the Main Library drop box.
Chapman said her office learned before ballots were mailed that the street adjacent to the library would be temporarily closed and worked with Salt Lake City to post signage, notify voters on social media and direct drivers to other nearby drop boxes.
She said pedestrians, cyclists and others could still reach the drop box throughout the closure.
“So, to drivers, it was inaccessible because you could not drive up to that,” Chapman said. “The next closest one … was only 2.5 miles away. There was another one available 3.3 miles away and another one available four miles away… I don’t believe that makes that burdensome.”
Salt Lake County has 29 ballot drop boxes. The Main Library location is the only one downtown.
County data show the downtown drop box remained one of the busiest in the system despite the road closure. According to the county, 1,119 ballots were returned there on Election Day, compared with a countywide average of about 850 ballots per drop box that day.
Chapman said those numbers demonstrate voters continued using the location.
“This drop box has been a main thoroughfare throughout Salt Lake County by-mail voting,” she said. “It’s near a TRAX station. It’s near the Main Library. A lot of people utilize this box in many different modalities.”
Musil argues that the heavy use shows why the downtown location deserves reliable vehicle access.
Chapman said the county continues to evaluate ballot drop box locations as it balances voter convenience, budget, available property, safety, and state requirements.
Salt Lake County encourages voters to check its website before each election for updated information about ballot drop box locations, access, and any temporary changes.
