Photo finish: Last-minute voting turnout, thin margins keep major Provo, Utah County municipal races undecided Wednesday
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- A ballot drop box sign is pictured Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, in Provo.
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- Provo Mayor Michelle Kaufusi is shown.
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- Provo mayoral candidate Marsha Judkins is pictured in an undated photo.
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- Brian Torres, of Provo, votes in the 2025 municipal general election Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2025, at CenterPoint Church in Orem.
A wave of last-minute ballot submissions and thin voting margins kept the unofficial results of several key races in Utah County’s 2025 municipal general election undecided into Wednesday.
County Clerk Aaron Davidson said the county received just over 67,000 ballots through Monday evening and an additional 51,000 ballots on Election Day, leaving 30,000 ballots still to process as of 2 p.m. Wednesday.
A Wednesday night unofficial results update added 18,000 ballots, and there remains more than 20,000 ballots left to process, according to Utah County Commissioner Skyler Beltran.
“We just didn’t know what to anticipate,” Davidson said Wednesday afternoon. “And we’re kind of realizing Utah County voters like to wait until the last day or two. … We still have 30,000 ballots to count. So these races may be tight now. They may not be when we’re done, or they could be tighter.”
In the Provo mayoral race, incumbent Michelle Kaufusi led by 162 votes, but after an additional 2,111 votes were counted Wednesday night, challenger Marsha Judkins surged to a slim lead of her own, with 7,153 votes (50.21%) opposed to Kaufusi’s 7,094 votes (49.79%) for a 59-vote difference.
The race holds major implications for Utah County’s largest city and county seat. Kaufusi said she has big plans for a third term, as she looks to continue developing the Provo Airport, Epic Sports Park and the surrounding area, and to find new solutions to solve the housing crisis. Judkins, a former state representative, said she wants to increase sales tax revenue, improve traffic and build more starter homes in the city.
“I’m just really interested to see the final results,” Judkins told the Daily Herald on Wednesday. “We did do a really strong ‘get out to vote’ effort on Monday and Tuesday. I have such amazing, dedicated volunteers, and they spent hours on those days texting, calling, knocking on doors. I know that effort has to have paid off, so I’m really curious to see the end results, and no matter how this comes out, whether I win or lose, it’s been an amazing experience to just work with this team of support and volunteers.”
Kaufusi did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Tight Provo contests extended beyond the mayoral race. In the Provo City Council District 2 race, Jeff Whitlock led challenger Hannah Petersen with 1,626 votes (51.23%) to 1,548 votes.
Victory is expected for Katrice Mackay in City Council City Wide Seat 1, as she led Adam Shin with 60% to 40% of the vote, and for Rachel Whipple in City Council District 5, who held 67% of the vote.
In the Orem mayoral race, challenger Karen McCandless held a 611-vote lead over incumbent Dave Young Wednesday, with 8,078 votes (51.97%) to 7,467 votes (48.03%).
The race for Orem’s three open city council seats also remained close Wednesday night. Quinn Mecham led the six-candidate pack with 7,981 votes (17.65%), while incumbent LaNae Millett was second with 7,473 votes (16.62%) and Crystal Muhlestien was third with 7,448 votes (16.57%).
Trailing close behind was Doyle Mortimer with 7,423 votes (16.51%), Angela Moulton with 7,245 votes (16.12%) and incumbent David Spencer with 7,247 votes (16.12%).
In the Lehi mayoral races, Paul Binns’ lead over Paige Albrecht grew Wednesday night, with 5,826 votes (53.08%) to 5,150 votes (46.92%).
In Eagle Mountain, Jared R. Gray led Melissa Clark in the Eagle Mountain mayoral race with 2,860 votes (52.30%) to 2,608 votes (47.70%).
The countywide turnout rate as of Wednesday night was 28%.
