FARMINGTON—The Primary Elections might be over, but the Clerk’s Office is gearing up for a ballot recount in Utah's 2nd Congressional District race between Rep. Celeste Maloy and Colby Jenkins with only a small margin of votes separating them. The recount begins on July 22 and is expected to be completed on July 25. 

The unique thing is residents are welcome to observe the ballot count now or during any election through large windows the county built where everything that is going on is clearly visible.

“The windows are four feet wide and three feet off the ground,” said Davis County Clerk Brian McKenzie. “That’s for accessibility. The higher ones are designed for standing. You can literally see everything that is happening from every angle through the windows.”

Citizens are free to walk around, he said. “We want people to see what we’re doing.”

Last November Davis County contracted with the state to process all statewide, multi county petitions, he said. “It’s been a very busy election year already. We anticipate that for the 2nd Congressional District recount. We have to recount all of the ballots involved in the race. We have to re-examine all of the ballots that weren’t counted. We have to confirm they weren’t counted for a reasonable reason such as the signature doesn’t match, not signed at all or they were too late.”

Those voters are notified by email, text, phone call or letter, said McKenzie. “There are curable reasons, those are rejected for a reason that can be fixed then they can get counted. The bulk of them are curable and can be resolved.”

People should be able to vote the way they want, McKenzie said. “I like to vote by mail. For me that’s the way to go but we have a number of people who want in person voting. That’s why we have a polling place in each city. That’s what works better for us. That way if someone chooses to vote that way they can.”

McKenzie said the 2nd Congressional District race is the closest they’ve had in 30 years. “They’re usually not that close. It can happen and it does happen.”

The statute for a recount is seven days, he said. “We anticipate to audit, count, get it certified, canvass and get it done.”

The observation area was completed in March, said McKenzie. “The goal is to make citizens confident in the work we are doing. We want them to come in and ask questions and see what we’re doing.”

Some people have questions, he said. “There’s nothing wrong with that.That (confidence) happens by going to the source of the information. That’s what we hope to do.”

People can be aware of the process by checking the county election calendar, said McKenzie. “They can also call our office and ask. We’d love to have them come and observe and participate in that process. Communication is the message.“