Utah County Mailed 'ID Required' Notices to Thousands of Voters by Mistake. Here's Who Needs to Send ID

The Utah County Clerk's Office mailed "ID required" notices to thousands of voters who did not need them, County Clerk Aaron Davidson acknowledged on Friday, Oct. 23, 2026. About 6,144 notices went out inside general election ballot packets, telling recipients to include a copy of their ID or their ballot might not be counted. Many recipients had already verified their identity or had voted before. If that is you, you do not need to send ID.

What happened

The insert is meant for first-time voters whose identity has not been verified. KSL reported that it also went to people who had voted before and to first-time voters who had already been verified; Davidson found at least 71 recipients who had voted in past elections. He told The Salt Lake Tribune he does not know how many went to voters who had proved their ID when they registered.

Davidson called it a clerical error. He told KUTV the problem involved miscommunication with the state driver license database, since many Utahns register to vote when they get a license, and that some staff did not mark people as having voted in earlier elections. He told the Tribune his office had received conflicting directions from the lieutenant governor's office, which found the county had not checked registrations against driver license data. Shelly Jackson, the state's deputy director of elections, told KSL, "I think the county just got a little overzealous and marked all the first-time voters" as needing to prove identity. Her office received a complaint on Monday, and she said the problem appears limited to Utah County.

In a clarification reported by KSL, the county said, "Unfortunately, this notice was also sent to some voters who did not need to provide identification," and added, "We recognize that this caused unnecessary confusion, and we sincerely apologize."

Do you need to send ID?

• You have voted before: No. Sign your envelope and return your ballot.
• You already verified your identity when you registered: No.
• You are a first-time voter whose identity has not been verified: Yes. KSL reported these voters must still include a copy of an acceptable ID, as the insert says.
• Not sure: Call the Utah County Elections Office at 801-851-8683.

Davidson told KSL, "There's processes in place, but we're not going to disenfranchise anybody," and told KUTV the county will count ballots whether or not a copy of ID is included. The Tribune reported that a voter who returns a ballot without required ID can cure it after the election by providing identification.

Who is most likely affected

The inserts went to new registrants, which in Utah County includes many BYU and UVU students voting here for the first time and people who moved this year. Our guide to voting in Utah County explains how registration and signature checks work.

How to check on your ballot

• Track it: the state's tool at votesearch.utah.gov shows when your mail ballot is received.
• Return it on time: ballots must be in the county's possession by 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 3. Drop boxes are open 24 hours a day until then, including at the Provo City Library, the Utah County Administration Building, the Orem City Library and Utah Valley University. The full list and vote centers are in your Utah County ballot guide.
• What's on the ballot: our Utah County elections page lists the contests on a Utah County ballot and what each office decides.

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