Early voting began in Utah on Monday, October 21, and will continue till October 31. Every county in Utah is offering at least one early voting location for residents who registered to vote before October 6; and about half of the counties have multiple locations.

County clerks around the state are setting up satellite locations for early voting. Pat Beckstead, Davis County elections manager, said that early voting was initiated because purchasing enough electronic voting machines for the presidential election is an expensive proposition for counties.

Even though the state typically has the highest voter turnout, every four years, during elections in the intervening years, the extra machines are not necessary. As such, counties rent extra machines when they need them, and offer early voting for the two weeks leading up to Election Day.

Bryan Thompson, Utah County Clerk and Auditor said he was encouraging the community to come vote early, and if enough people turn up, he will arrange to get more voting machines out to the early voting locations.

Thompson expressed his view that if voting is anything like voter registrations, the polls are going to be swamped on November 4.

Beckstead estimates up to 25 percent of Davis County voters at the polls in the next two weeks, when voters can vote at their convenience. Machines will be available in Davis County in six locations at varying hours to accommodate voters’ schedules.

She said early voting would reduce the number of voters who have to go to the polls on Election Day. She also added: “But some people feel like Election Day is Election Day and that’s when you vote. We’re there for them, too.”