CACHE COUNTY – The Cache County vote in the 2020 general election was finally canvassed and officially certified by members of the county council on Tuesday,
Clerk/Auditor Jess Bradfield explained the vote tallies, which had continued to change as little as a hour prior to the canvassing meeting, and answered a handful of polite questions about the ballot counting process.
Four council members then queued up to certify the vote with their signatures – council chair Karl B. Ward and members Paul R. Borup, David L. Erickson and Gina H. Worthen. That gesture was particularly significant for Erickson and Ward, both of whom won reelection during the Nov. 3 balloting.
Bradfield had previously announced Monday that the county had achieved a record 92.27 percent voter turnout, with 58,900 ballots received from 63,833 registered county voters. The number of votes actually certified was 58,905, Bradfield explained, because five additional provisional ballots were verified Tuesday morning.
Council member Worthen praised Bradfield for the smooth outcome of the election process, especially given the fact that he only had assumed the role clerk/auditor in late September. Bradfield attributed that success to the expertise and professionalism of the staff of the clerk’s office, who he said “adapted to new leadership and new ideas with remarkable speed.”
The final canvass count reflected 39,852 ballots submitted by county residents and another 19,053 from resident of Logan.
The local balloting was conducted by mail and in-person at a single county polling place that was open for early voting and on Election Day.
The total number of valid mail-in ballots submitted locally was 54,439 (37,642 from county residents and 16,797 from Logan residents).
The total number of valid provisional ballots cast in-person locally was 4,466 (2,210 from county residents and 2,256 from Logan residents).
Bradfield said that slightly fewer than 1,000 faulty or invalid ballots were rejected by his staff during counting process. Those were 747 mail-in ballots and 234 provisional ballots.
In response to a question from council member Erickson, Bradfield said that the margins of victory in local elections were such that those rejected ballots were unlikely to impact those outcomes.
The canvass process also confirmed the final vote percentages in state and local political races.
In the gubernatorial race to replace outgoing Gov. Gary Herbert, Republican candidate Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox and running mate state Sen. Deidre Henderson received 70 percent of the Cache County vote compared to 22.7 percent for Democrat Chris Peterson and running mate Karina Brown of Nibley.
In the U.S. House District 1 race to replace outgoing U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, Republican candidate Blake Moore of Salt Lake City received 70 percent of the Cache County vote compared to 29.5 percent for Democrat Darren Parry of Providence.
In the State Senate District 25 race to replace outgoing Sen. Lyle Hillyard, Republican candidate Chris Wilson of Logan received 71 percent of the Cache County vote compared to 29 percent for Democrat Nancy Huntly.
In the State House District 1, Republican incumbent Rep. Joel Ferry garnered 84 percent of the Cache County vote in a three-way against Democrat Amber Hardy (11.7 percent) and Constitution candidate Sherry Phipps (4.4 percent).
In the State House District 3 race to replace outgoing Rep. Val Potter, Republican candidate Mile Petersen of North Logan received 73 percent of the Cache County vote compared to 26 percent for Democrat Holly Gunther.
In State House District 4, Republican incumbent Rep. Dan Johnson garnered 59 percent of the Cache County vote compared to Democrat Mary DaSilva with 40 percent.
In State House District 5, Republican incumbent Rep. Casey Snider won 79 percent of the Cache County vote compared to 20 percent for Democrat Lauren Abell.
In races for seats on the Cache County Council, newcomer Nolen Gunnell ran uncontested while three incumbents were easily reelected. They were Karl B. Ward with 60 percent of the county vote, Barbara Y. Tidwell with 65 percent and David Erickson with 82 percent.
In the presidential race, 65 percent of Cache County voters favored President Donald Trump compared to 29 percent who cast ballots for former Vice President Joe Biden.