The Utah County Elections Division is holding its annual ballot center tours beginning Aug. 1, and they will run until Oct. 30.

Elections specialist Tony Lara said these tours were created because “We are always looking to be as transparent as possible, and so this was just another way for us to reach out and educate voters on the specifics of how we do our job.”

The dates and times are as follows and can also be found at Utahcounty.vote:

• Aug. 1 at 3 p.m.
• Aug. 8 at 6 p.m.
• Aug. 9 at 3 p.m.
• Sept. 12 at 6 p.m.
• Oct. 11 at 3 p.m.
• Oct. 16 at 6 p.m.
• Oct. 23 at 3 p.m.
• Oct. 30 at 3 p.m.
• Oct. 30 at 6 p.m.

The tours are held at the county office on 100 E. Center St. in the basement in Room 600. Lara suggested arriving 10 minutes early but said if someone arrives late they will help them get caught up in the tour. The tour lasts 30 minutes, so if there is a large turnout, two tours will be given, but Lara said the usual turnout is five to 10 people per tour and the limit per tour is about 30 people. However, since the tours started in 2021, Lara said, “The participation has steadily increased.”

No sign-up is necessary and the tours are open to all. “Bring the kids, bring the whole family,” Lara said. The division also is working on doing tours specifically for groups of high school students or home-schooled students as they begin learning about the election process in their government classes.

The tours are a way for voters to be informed about how the process works and receive answers to any questions or concerns they may have about the election process or counting of ballots. The tour shows people the “lifecycle of a ballot,” Lara explained. “The tour generally starts with the initial point where the ballots are incoming and then moves through the process of verifying signatures, and finally extracting and tabulating (counting) the ballots.”

Office staff will also explain the process of ballot adjudication in Utah, a term for determining voter intent when a cast ballot is flagged during the voting process. Security measures taken by the elections division are also shown during the tour. “We’ll show the connection from the tabulation equipment directly to the servers, so we can make sure to show everybody there’s no outside internet connection,” Lara said.

There will be time for further questions after the tour is over to clarify something or to answer the curiosity of someone simply interested in knowing more. Aaron Davidson, Utah County clerk, will also be present at each tour to give attendees a chance to speak with an elected official. Lara said Davidson will be alongside attendees to experience the tour with them, so he will be “available to either answer questions or maybe provide some follow-up insight.”

Lara said these tours are vital to Utah County and the voting process because “Arming voters with that knowledge, and letting them know that we’re available to show the process, that it’s something that they can come in and see and learn more about, is important in general. But specifically, as we move closer to 2024, I know that combating misinformation is becoming an important part of our job, and I think having this as a tool, or I think using this is a tool to combat that and make sure that the correct information is out there for folks, is important.”