Noon: Election monitors stop by Salt Lake County polling sites

Salt Lake County Clerk Lannie Chapman said federal election monitors sent by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department are visiting all 40 voting centers in the county Tuesday, spending about 30 minutes at each site.

By about noon, monitors had already hit several polling locations, including the Salt Lake County Government Center on State Street and Unified Fire Authority’s Fire Station 123 in Herriman, she said.

So far, Chapman said the monitors have followed state election laws and have not interacted with voters or disrupted the voting process.

A spokesperson for Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson’s office also said Tuesday morning that they had not heard of any issues.

Throughout the county, Salt Lake Tribune staff are seeing polling locations with steady but manageable lines.

At the Draper Recreation Center, at 657 E. Vestry Rd., polling staff said they saw long lines when it first opened at 7 a.m. — mostly from sweaty patrons looking to cast their vote after their morning workout. But by early afternoon, lines had shrunken considerably.

9:35 a.m.: Preelection turnout numbers and scenes from the polls

The estimated preelection turnout from Utah voters before polls opened throughout the state early Tuesday was 30%, Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson announced.

The highest turnout was in Grand County, with 60% estimated turnout, followed by Rich County with 58.8%.

In Utah County, where Clerk Aaron Davidson has said he is a proponent of in-person voting, preelection turnout was 19.3%, the second-lowest in the state. In Salt Lake County, the number hovered just under 34%.

On Tuesday morning, around 9 a.m., a steady stream of voters lined up at the ballot drop box outside the downtown Salt Lake City library — and found it nearly stuffed to the top. An elections division worker with the Salt Lake County clerk’s office noted someone was on the way to retrieve ballots as people continued to vote.

About 2.5 miles south, at the Salt Lake County Government Center, a Salt Lake Tribune reporter also noted cars queuing for the location’s drive-thru ballot drop box.

There were also plenty of residents walking inside to vote in-person.

9 a.m.: E-votes in San Juan County

Some San Juan County residents woke up to an email offering them an unusual option Tuesday, after flooding prompted Utah’s top election official to allow affected voters to cast their ballots electronically.

Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson declared emergency election accommodations Monday as record rainfall and flooding continued to disrupt the county, blocking roads and making it difficult for some residents to reach ballot drop boxes and polling locations.

“We want to make sure that every voter knows that they’re important, that their vote matters, and that if they wish to do so, they have every opportunity to cast their vote,” Henderson said at a news conference Monday.

San Juan County has about 6,000 registered voters, Henderson said, and the county clerk’s office has limited staff and is already “spread really thin.”

Unlocking the electronic option is a temporary emergency measure and will not change the state’s regular voting process in the future, she said.

The county sent an email Tuesday morning to voters who may need the accommodation and have an email address on file. Residents who have not voted and did not receive an email can contact the county clerk before 5 p.m. All electronic ballots must be submitted by 8 p.m.

County officials declared a local emergency Sunday, and Bluff Mayor Josh Ewing described the latest round of rain as “a one-two punch.”

Henderson, making her second visit to the county in a week, said Monday that roads and bridges had been washed away or submerged, while some homes and businesses were destroyed. Communities were just beginning to recover from last week’s flooding when more rain fell on already saturated ground over the weekend.

It’s today! What you need to know

Today’s the day! Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. as Utah voters decide on who will represent them in offices everywhere from their local county government to Washington, D.C.

More than 1.7 million Utahns are registered to vote, according to Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson’s office.

Henderson, who oversees statewide elections, said about a third of voters had cast ballots as of Monday morning, with turnout ranging from 18% in San Juan County to more than 45% in Rich and Grand counties.

Three members of Utah’s House delegation are up for reelection, as U.S. Reps. Blake Moore, Celeste Maloy and Mike Kennedy look to win again in newly drawn congressional districts. U.S. Rep. Burgess Owens, who currently represents the state’s 4th Congressional District, is retiring, while former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams is running again in the new 1st Congressional District.

Utahns also will vote for members of the state Legislature, two proposed congressional amendments, county councils, school boards and whether to retain judges.

Want to learn more about the races on your ballot? Check out The Tribune’s voter guides. Plug in your address and find guides for every race on your ballot.

In past elections, ballots postmarked on or by Election Day would be counted. But a change to Utah’s election laws now requires filled-out ballots to be in the hands of election officials or in an official drop box by 8 p.m. on election night to be counted.

That means it’s far too late to mail your ballot, but there are still plenty of ways to vote.

Secure drop boxes are an option, and so is dropping off a completed ballot at a local polling place. And, as always, people can vote at their local polling place as long as they are in line by 8 p.m.

Some polling places in Salt Lake County will have federal monitors from the U.S. Department of Justice. We should find out today where they will be, and we have detailed what they can and can’t do.

You can find your closest voting location by searching by address on votesearch.utah.gov.

Utahns are allowed to return ballots for people they live with as long as each voter signs their own envelope.

For those who need it, some companies are offering the chance to take a discounted electric scooter, e-bike or rideshare to polling.

Note to readers • This blog will be updated throughout Election Day; check back for developing news.