By McKenzie Romero | Editor
It’s Election Day in Utah, and across the state voters who haven’t already dropped off their by-mail ballots are going to the polls.
Meanwhile, 12 federal election monitors — among 1,000 deployed across the country — will head to polling places in Salt Lake County. Election officials say they’re not worried, but advocates see cause for concern.
In this Election Day edition of the Dispatch we update you on what federal election monitors are doing in the state, emergency voting provisions activated for flooded San Juan County, and what Utahns said in a survey about the Great Salt Lake.
“I don’t want our voters to feel concerned about their right to casting their vote.” — Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman speaking about federal election monitors being sent to polling places in the county.
Signs direct people to a voting location at the Main Library in Salt Lake City on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
By Annie Knox
Federal election monitors are instructed to watch and take notes, while not intruding or interfering with voting, a DOJ attorney informed Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson in a letter. They’ll also introduce themselves to the poll manager, present ID, dress in business casual attire, and won’t carry guns or wear pins or uniforms identifying them as Justice Department employees.
Voting rights advocates in Utah are raising concerns the program could intimidate voters and say its specific objective isn’t clear. The agency has said it will be watching whether election workers are following federal law requiring Spanish language voting materials and compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Drone footage shows flooding in Bluff, Utah, on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (Video by Raini Pachak/Bluff Community Foundation)
By Alixel Cabrera
Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson has issued an emergency declaration to accommodate San Juan County voters after severe flooding over the past several days overwhelmed the rural area in which distances are long and travel has become hazardous.
The declaration allows affected voters to receive and return their ballots electronically, citing a county-wide flood alert issued by San Juan County Emergency Management advising residents to exercise extreme caution, avoid flooded roads and low-lying areas, and to remain prepared to take action if needed.
Demonstrators call for action to save the drying Great Salt Lake in a rally at the Utah State Capitol on Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026. (Will Ruzanski/Utah News Dispatch)
GREAT SALT LAKE COLLABORATIVE
By Will Ruzanski, The Daily Utah Chronicle
Utahns want more water in the Great Salt Lake, and they want a plan that lasts. They’re worried about dust, development and decision-making by Utah’s government. That’s what 509 Utahns said about the Great Salt Lake in a short answer, open response survey by the Great Salt Lake Collaborative.
“Without the GSL, there literally is no future for this region,” one respondent from Ogden said. “Collapse this lake, collapse this culture.”
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