Voters across Utah go to the polls today, and local Republicans are confident that they'll maintain or even increase their control of elected offices -- while state Democrats are equally confident that they'll see gains as well, even if they don't win races.

National concerns that are dogging GOP candidates in other states, where the midterm elections have become a vote of confidence on President George Bush and the Iraq war, have not surfaced as much in Utah. And after a slow start, interest in the election seems to be growing.

On the ballot are races for Congress, the state Legislature, the Utah County Commission and all three local school boards. There's also an "opinion question" asking for a sales tax increase to pay for road construction and commuter rail, and the Alpine School District is asking for money to build and remodel schools.

Utah is "insulated" from the national concerns that are present in many races across the country, said Jeff Hartley, executive director of the state Republican Party.

Though Bush's approval ratings in Utah are not as high as they once were, "we're not seeing the president's approval numbers affecting our local candidates," he said.

Jeff Bell, communications director for the state Democratic Party, agreed.

"You see a level of respect for the office here that some of the more liberal Democrats don't have," Bell said. "It's more of a case where the incumbent's record should be the thing that everything revolves around."

A last-minute ballot brouhaha in House District 60, meanwhile, was resolved late Monday afternoon. Edward Lalone, a Democrat who is challenging GOP incumbent Brad Daw, had been removed from the ballot because he didn't file a financial disclosure form in time.

The forms were due at 5 p.m. Oct. 31. Lalone didn't file his until the next day, said Joe Demma, chief of staff for Lt. Gov. Gary Herbert.

A Salt Lake County judge ruled Monday that Lalone was in "substantial compliance" with requirements and ordered his reinstatement as a candidate.

That's a piece of good news for the Democrats, but it's still most likely that Republicans will continue their hold on Utah County offices.

Still, Democrats are holding out hope for the 3rd District congressional race.

Democrat Christian Burridge is trying to unseat U.S. Rep. Chris Cannon, R-Utah, a five-term incumbent.

"If there's a miracle in the offing, he's the one," Bell said of Burridge. "He's had so much momentum. We've got our hopes up on that one."

Democratic events across the state have attracted record levels of involvement, Bell added, and he predicted his party's candidates will at least attract more support.

"I think you'll see a move. I don't think it'll be gigantic," he said. "For a lot of Democratic parties in America, this is the year they get their resurgence. In Utah, we take a more moderate pace. This is a transition year."

Marian Monnahan, chairwoman of the Utah County Republican Party, said interest in the election, while not as high as in a presidential year, is growing.

"Up until the last week or so it seemed there was a lot of voter apathy," she said Monday. "I find that it's picking up ... suddenly they realize, 'tomorrow we vote.' "

The bond questions in Alpine will probably fuel a strong turnout there, she added.

Said Hartley: "We're confident that turnout will exceed what's normally seen in a non-presidential year.

"We're excited," he said. "We expect some reasonable increase in our Republican majority tomorrow."

Utah voters could vote early for the first time this year, and 4,515 of Utah County's 229,000 registered voters took advantage of that option. The county elections office also sent out 3,579 absentee ballots, and about half of those had been returned by Monday afternoon.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A1.