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SALT LAKE CITY — A record number of Utahns cast ballots in the recent general election, even as the state's voter turnout percentage fell compared to four years ago, according to the recently certified statewide election results.
A staggering 90.09% of registered voters cast a ballot in 2020, and although 13,000 additional votes were cast this year, a significant increase in the number of active registered voters over the past four years led to an overall decrease in voter turnout. Of the nearly 1.8 million active voters, 1,529,138 — or 85.36% — cast a ballot this year.
The state Board of Canvassers met to certify the results at the state Capitol in Salt Lake City Monday, with Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson noting the turnout remained high, even if it didn't match the percentage from the previous presidential election cycle.
"I would like to point out that we ended up with over 85% turnout in this election, which is very good. Well done, state of Utah," she said. "Great job to our county clerks who administered the election and all of the poll workers. It's a big job."
She said the vast majority of Utahns returned their ballots through the mail or in drop boxes and said about 12% showed up to vote in person. Rich County had the highest voter turnout in the state with 92% of the county's 1,585 active voters casting a ballot. Carbon County, meanwhile, had the lowest turnout, with 83.72%.
Trump improves on his 2020 numbers
Preliminary election results showed President-elect Donald Trump on pace to improve on the margin he won Utah by in 2020, and the final results bear that out. Trump won Utah in 2020 with 58.13% of the vote. This year, an additional 18,678 Utahns voted for the Republican ticket, giving Trump and running mate JD Vance 59.39% of the vote.
Trump picked up votes in every county in Utah except for Salt Lake and Davis counties. Vice President Kamala Harris also gained votes in most counties but lost over 16,000 voters in Salt Lake County compared to President Joe Biden in 2020, and lost a handful of votes in Summit, Daggett and San Juan counties.
Harris' vote share in Utah inched up from 37.65% of the Democratic vote in 2020 to 37.81% this go-around.
The president still ran behind most other major Republicans in the state, with Sen.-elect John Curtis, Reps. Blake Moore and Burgess Owens, and Rep.-elect Mike Kennedy won their races with at least 60% of the vote.
Gov. Spencer Cox won reelection with just shy of 53%, the lowest mark for any statewide or federal Republican candidate. GOP state Rep. Phil Lyman refused to concede to Cox after the gubernatorial primary and launched a write-in campaign instead. That effort earned an impressive 13.57% of the vote, cutting into Cox's margin.
Lyman finished with just over 200,000 votes in the general election, more than the 194,639 he received in the primary.
