SC - How To Vote


	"To vote is like the payment of a debt - a duty never to be neglected, if its performance is possible." - Rutherford Birchard Hayes U.S President. 1822-1893.

How To Vote

Voting At The Polls

The most common way to cast your vote is in person at an established polling location. Your polling location is determined by your address and can change from year-to-year, so please check your polling location before each election.

Click here to check your polling location

Early Voting

In recent years, Salt Lake County and Draper City have offered an early voting option, which allows voters to vote before the official election date during preset dates and at established early voting locations (typically Draper City Hall or the County Building for Draper residents).

Click here to learn more about Early Voting

Voting By Mail

It is also possible to register to permanently vote by mail instead of at the polls. Anyone can sign-up to vote by mail, who is a registered voter in Salt Lake County.

Click here to learn more about Voting By Mail

Our Guide to Voting

There is no perfect formula for picking candidates to vote for. As participants in the political process we each need to decide for ourselves what criteria we will use to make those decisions for ourselves. The following are a few things we at SavvyCitizen think may be worth considering as you go through that evaluation process, but it is up to you to decide if they are criteria you wish to consider and how important each one may be to your decisions making process.

Are they honest and candid?

There is a somewhat natural inclination for politicians to avoid taking a stand on an issue that is controversial, so many try to chart a neutral course. They may say the issue requires more study, that they see both sides, or they may redirect any questions posed to them on that issue to something safer. The candidates that do this are not bad people, but they can get trapped in a mindset of simply not making enemies.

Almost any elected office carries considerable responsibility and is a very tough job. Many of the decisions you will make in such an office will disappoint a significant number of your constituents, regardless of what that decision is.

One thing you should consider as you look at the candidates is whether or not they take a stand on any issue, or if they tend to deflect questions instead of answering them. How confident can you be that a candidate that cannot address the issues head-on will become an elected official that can? How can you evaluate a candidate in terms of how they think or deal with problems if they actively conceal what they think about the issues during a campaign?

Are they well informed about the issues?

Another reason a candidate might deflect a question is because they simply do not know how to answer. In other words, they may not know about or understand the issue you are questioning them about.

On the one hand, it should raise red flags if a candidate for office does not know anything about the key issues they will deal with in office. If you know more than them then do you really want them representing you?

On the other hand, being unafraid of saying "I don't know" is a sign of strength of character. Wouldn't you much prefer a candidate that says "I don't know" instead of dodging the question or saying the issue requires more study. And keep an eye on any candidate that is willing to say "I don't know", but then goes and studies the issue and comes back to you with an honest answer shortly thereafter.

Do they agree with you on the issues?

In many ways the candidate you want to vote for is the candidate that will best represent you - meaning act in a way consistent with how you would have acted. Therefore, learning how the candidates feel about key issues should be a major part of your evaluation of them.

However, you should be careful about being blinded by one issue. Any elected office is about considerably more than one issue, so it is risky to either eliminate or select candidates based on one issue alone. Of course, you may feel that one issue is more important than anything else, but it never hurts you to learn about where the candidates stand on other issues before you decide. You may be surprised by how much that one issue means to you in the context of where your favorite candidates stand on all the others.

You should also be sure they really do agree with you on the issues. As noted above, politicians can be experts at concealing their true stances and it is not unheard of for politicians to tell whatever audience they happen to be in front of exactly what they want to hear. Remember that if the candidate does not know where you are coming from then it is much harder for them to tailor their answer to suit you, so avoid any questions that may give them clues to your position before they tell you theirs.

Finally, don't stop at the water's edge when it comes to exploring the candidates' positions. Find out why they take the stance they do, not just what that stance is. If they disagree with you on certain issues, then find out why? Again, you may be surprised by something they know that you didn't, and at the very least you will have a better handle on how they think and problem solve.

How might the office they seek benefit them personally?

The vast majority of people that seek office do so to serve their community without consideration of any personal benefit, but it is always good to be a little cynical and at least consider what personal motive might be driving their decision to run. Does this put them in a position that can help their business or benefit them financially? Is this a stepping stone to another more lofty public office down the road? Is there a single agenda that is driving them to office and what is it?

In the end you may find that there is a personal benefit they are seeking (e.g. a desire to run for higher office in the future), but that it shouldn't disqualify them. Of course, you may find there is a personal benefit being sought that concerns you and factors into your judgment of them as a worthy candidate.

Who supports them and who doesn't?

It is perfectly reasonable to consider who supports a candidate as you evaluate them yourself. It makes a great deal of sense to know who the people you know and respect are supporting or voting for. However, it is always good to know why they support a particular candidate, as opposed to just that they do. You may find that the reasons your friends support someone are not as meaningful to you as they are to them.

Our advice is not to vote for any candidate just because your friend has their sign in their lawn, but ask that friend why they support that candidate and see if that makes sense to you.

And, of course, this all applies to considering friends that do not support a candidate, or to dismissing a candidate because people you do not like or respect support them.

Do they have a record of service in the community?

How committed are the candidates to serving the community? What are they like to work with? How successful are they in achieving goals for the community? Have they demonstrated community leadership skills?

These are all questions that a record of community service can help to answer. As you evaluate the candidates, consider how they have served the community in the past and how their record of service may help to predict how they will serve in the office they seek.

Do they possess the attributes necessary for the office they seek?

What are the attributes needed for any particular office? Some offices (e.g. County Attorney) may require very specific skill sets and you should feel confident that the candidates you decide to vote for have those skill sets. Of course, you may also feel that there are some attributes that anyone needs simply to be a public official, such as...

Good communication skills
Intelligence and a logical approach to problem solving
Fair
Open-minded and flexible
Courageous (willing to go it alone if need be)

Your list may be different, but it is always useful to consider what attributes you think are important for the office in question and how the candidates compare on those attributes.

Do they have the time necessary for the office they seek?

Most elected offices in Utah and in Draper are part-time offices, so those holding those offices will often have other commitments, including employment. Yet, almost all of these public offices take a considerable amount of time. It is perfectly fair to ask questions about what other commitments they have.

Does their job require a considerable amount of travel? Do they own a start-up where they often have to put in a 70-hour week?

In the end, you need to consider whether or not a candidate really has the time to fulfill the responsibilities that their elected office would require.