After one of the most unusual elections in history, Utah legislators are busy drafting numerous bills seeking to make changes in election law. Proposals include a variety of schemes to help shorten voting lines — which were up to four-hours long this year. Some lawmakers want to force winners to achieve a majority of the vote, not just a plurality. And some want to ensure that, unlike this year, the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote wins the election. … Sen. Daniel Thatcher, R-West Valley City, stood in line for more than two hours to vote at Hunter Library on Election Day. Others lined up there for up to four hours. “What really drives me crazy is how many people I saw that simply turned around and went home when they saw those lines,” Thatcher says.
He asserts the problems can be blamed on Salt Lake County’s attempt to convert to a vote-by-mail system — and he plans to push for some changes.
The county attributes the long waits to the unexpectedly high number of people who failed to mail back ballots and showed up to cast votes in person.
“The county clerk thought that two voting centers [in West Valley City] would be enough to handle its 130,000 residents. It’s not,” Thatcher said. He plans to meet with the lieutenant governor’s office and county clerks to find what ratio is appropriate, and set a requirement for a minimum number of voting centers. “I’m thinking maybe one for every 10,000 residents.”
Full Article: After unusual election, lawmakers draft pile of bills seeking to make changes | The Salt Lake Tribune.