This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2004, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Salt Lake County GOP Chairwoman Tiani Coleman announced Wednesday
afternoon that she will certify write-in candidate Ellis Ivory as the
party's nominee for county mayor and request that the clerk's office
put his name on the ballot.
The move opens the door for legal challenges, which have been
threatened by at least one candidate and the Democratic Party. And
that could push the controversy closer to the Nov. 2 general election.
"The law allows for this action, with an intent of that being, that
voters should be able to have a choice," Coleman said in a news
release. "Parties should be represented, and straight-ticket voters
should not be disenfranchised. Ellis Ivory is a principled, credible
candidate, who is already well on his way to winning a write-in
campaign."
Ivory said he would comment later Wednesday on the issue.
Coleman had scheduled a meeting for Republican leaders later this
month after the party's official nominee, incumbent Nancy Workman,
dropped out of the race, citing medical reasons. It's unclear whether
that Central Committee meeting will still happen. The Central
Committee already had backed Ivory as its candidate when it withdrew
support for Workman.
Workman is on paid leave while facing two felony charges of misuse
of public money. She denies any criminal wrongdoing, but withdrew
from the race with a doctor's note saying the charges are putting a
strain on her physically and emotionally.
County Clerk Sherrie Swensen said earlier Wednesday that she was
hoping the GOP's decision would be made soon so that her office can
get to work on changing the ballots. "It's good it's done sooner
rather than later," Swensen said.
But Swensen does plan to submit Coleman's request to the District
Attorney's Office and to the state elections office to ensure it
matches with Utah law. As for lawsuits over the ballot replacement,
Swensen said that could make things difficult.
"I hope if there are any challenges, they get it done soon," she
said. "Right now, we're in limbo."
It would take at least 120 hours to replace or cover up Workman's
name on the ballot, Swensen said, because there are more than 700
precincts in the county and thousands of voter machines.