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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.