NORTH SALT LAKE -- Municipal elections often draw few voters, but with the controversial voucher issue, the number may be higher for this year's November 6 election. Bountiful City recorder Kim Coleman gave members of the Bountiful Exchange Club an overview of the election process Thursday during the group's regular breakfast meeting.

Coleman said that in recent years a lot of effort has been made to get more people out to vote, through early voting, and provisional and absentee ballots.

Currently, anyone who won't be able to make it to the polls on election day, may vote early, within the 14 days prior to the election, or fill out a provisional ballot on the day of the election.

Coleman said a provisional ballot may be used by someone registered to vote in one city, but who has moved and hasn't reregistered. Those ballots are held until the elections results are canvassed, when they're counted if election judges determine the voter was actually registered elsewhere.

Still, a non-mayoral election in Bountiful will only draw 15-18 percent of registered voters and a mayoral race will draw 22-24 percent of registered voters.

"We want to get people out to vote," Coleman said.

Usually, cities run the election on the odd-numbered years, with the county running them on the even-numbered years. But this year, because of the voucher issue, the governor has mandated that the counties run the election, with the cities paying them what they've budgeted.

Coleman spoke on a major change voters will find this year -- that's in precincts. He explained that because of electronic voting, precincts countywide have been consolidated from 95 to 65 and from 27 to 25 in Bountiful City. He said some voting sites have been eliminated, such as at Bountiful High and the Rocky Mountain Care Center in Bountiful, while others have been moved. A map, which will run in the Clipper prior to the election, will show those voting pre-cincts in Bountiful, he said, but voters with questions may call Bountiful City to find out where they vote.

He shared a little about election judges, saying the city generally uses the same judges yearly. But with a salary of about $100 for the day for a nearly 16-hour day, "They don't do it for the money," he said.

Generally there are three judges per precinct, but since the electronic voting was initiated, there's been five or six, to help voters working the machines.

He said he prefers to use judges from the precinct they are working in, because they often know many of the voters.

Judges need to be U.S. citizens, be 18 years old and residents of the county. Coleman said an election judge living in Davis County can serve anywhere in the county.

mwilliams@davisclipper.com