Several people tried to submit their ballots to a drop box in Herriman but said it was too full. But after inspection, election officials say isn't the case. (File photo of Herriman City Hall via KSL TV)
HERRIMAN, Utah — Several people who tried to use a ballot box outside Herriman City Hall Tuesday morning found they could not, with many complaining the box was stuffed to the brim. But Salt Lake County elections officials said that was not the case.
The city of Herriman called the county election office to unload the box when people started having trouble putting their ballots in around 7 a.m.
The ballot box had been emptied Monday night.
Herriman Assistant City Manager Tami Moody said poll workers who were at City Hall were able to scoop up the ballots, so everyone’s vote was turned in on time.
“You can vote here inside City Hall,” Moody said. “And, so, some of the poll workers that were working inside City Hall just went out to the ballot box, which is right outside in front of the building. That’s where they were providing assistance.”
The ballot box can hold about 1,900 votes at a time.
However, Salt Lake County Clerk Sherri Swenson said that when the ballots were brought back and counted, there were only 865.
She thinks user error may be to blame for what happened.
“We even had labels made to put on top of these boxes to put their ballot down into the box,” Swenson said. “If they set it up kind of up at the top, it looks like it’s full and it isn’t.”
She thinks several ballots may have gotten jammed up in that ledge area.
Swenson said she believes it is an easy mistake to make, especially if someone is driving a smaller car.
Once the ballot box was emptied, the city did not report any further problems with it — even though many more people used it throughout the day.
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