Utah County voters who received a confusing ballot insert about ID requirements can ignore it if they have voted before.

The Utah County Elections Office on Oct. 23 issued a public apology after sending inserts in ballot packets that told recipients they must provide a copy of their identification or their ballot may not be counted. That requirement applies only to certain first-time voters who have not yet verified their identity.

The notices also went to returning voters and first-time voters who had already provided ID, as first reported by KSL. The Lehi Free Press reported that the Elections Office posted a statement on social media and sent an email on Oct. 23 addressing the mistake.

"Unfortunately, this notice was also sent to some voters who did not need to provide identification," the statement reads. "We recognize that this caused unnecessary confusion, and we sincerely apologize. We take responsibility for this mistake."

Utah County Clerk Aaron Davidson told KSL a clerical error led to the problem. His office sent 6,144 of the notices total. At least 71 went to people who had previously voted, Davidson said. An unknown additional number went to first-time voters who had already verified their identity.

Davidson said his team fixed the issue and ballots will not be rejected for voters who have already verified their identity.

Shelly Jackson, deputy state elections director, told the Salt Lake Tribune that the number of ID notices sent in a typical election is "very, very small." She said most of those who received the Utah County notices likely should not have and don't need to verify their identification.

Jackson said the lieutenant governor's office received voter complaints, and after a series of phone calls with the Utah County elections director, they discovered the office had not checked registrations against driver's license data. That left those voters on the list as needing to provide identification.

Given the timing, Jackson said there was not enough time to identify who received the notices in error. But voters who submit a ballot without the required ID will have a chance after the election to "cure" their ballot by providing identification, she said.

Here is what voters need to know:

  • Returning voters: You do not need to submit additional ID because you received this insert.
  • First-time voters: Follow the ID instructions in your insert if you have not already satisfied the requirement.
  • Questions? Call the Utah County Elections Office at 801-851-8683.

Voters can enroll in BallotTrax to get notifications about when their ballot was received and counted by visiting trackmyballot.utah.gov/voter. Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 3.