Isaac Hale, Daily Herald file photo

As sure as summer turns to fall, so do the carefree days of summer turn to sign-packed corners, waving politicians and mail-in ballots.

It’s election time.

This year, eight cities in Utah County have chosen to opt in on the ranked-choice voting process; others are holding off to see how these cities do.

Ballots will be mailed Oct. 12 for this November’s election cycle. They must be postmarked by Nov. 1, the day before Election Day, to be counted. They can also be put in several drop boxes around the county up to the day of the election.

For residents living in cities and towns that opted in to ranked-choice voting, there still might be some confusion as to how that works.

Isaac Hale, Daily Herald file photo

Ranked-choice voting allows voters to rank candidates they prefer from first to last. If no candidate gets more than half of the first place votes, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and those who ranked him/her first have their votes allotted to their second choice. The process recycles until a candidate has the majority of votes.

Several cities have put videos on their websites to help explain the process. If a voter is still confused, they can visit rankthevoteutah.org to view a video on how the process works. There is also a question-and-answer section to provide additional information.

Utah County cities and towns that have opted in for ranked-choice voting include Lehi, Springville, Woodland Hills, Goshen, Genola, Payson and Vineyard. They are among more than a dozen cities throughout Utah — including Salt Lake City, Draper and Sandy — that will use the process this year.

Vineyard and Payson are not new to the process, and according to leadership in both cities, the process is not that bad.

“In 2019, we surveyed voters who used ranked-choice voting. Over 84% of the respondents wanted to continue or expand that process,” said Josh Daniels, Utah County Clerk/Auditor. “They (Payson and Vineyard citizens) really liked it, and candidates seemed to like it too. That is why they are doing it again.”

According to Daniels, the process won’t be that different from counting regular ballots. Utah County cities have all contracted with the county elections office to run the counting of the ballots; the only difference is that cities with ranked-choice voting have one more step.

The ranked votes will be exported into a digital data file and the automated process will take about five minutes. Election officials take those results, tabulate the ranked-choice voting and turn it into a visual chart to show how the counting proceeded. That will be put on the county’s reader boards on election night, according to Daniels.

Some cities pose interesting choices or no choices at all. For instance, in Elk Ridge, there are two seats open for city council and only two candidates; both win.

However, in Lehi, there are nine council candidates with two four-year seats open. This is where ranked-choice voting could be advantageous.

Springville’s city council also opted to use ranked-choice voting for the first time. There is no incumbent mayor, so voters will have three new faces to choose from. When it comes to city council seats, there are seven people running for two four-year seats and three running for one two-year seat.

Hoping to get someone from the family in city leadership, there is a husband/wife team running. Ryan Miller is running for mayor and wife Amanda Miller is running for a four-year seat on the council.

Brother and sister duo Marcia Conover-Harris and Craig Conover — retail manager for the Daily Herald — are running against each other for a chance at a four-year seat on the council.

Pleasant Grove has one mayoral candidate and two city council candidates for the two seats open (one candidate pulled out of the race early on). Although they are not involved with ranked-choice voting, the primary decided the election and Pleasant Grove has cancelled its November election, according to the Utah County Elections Office.

Over the next two weeks, several cities will hold meet-the-candidate nights or debates; check your city’s website for details.

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