Weber County clerk previews ballot-mailing changes, signature and ID rules; public commenters raise access concerns

Ricky Hatch, Weber County clerk, told the North Ogden City Council on May 27 that recent state law changes and routine audits will change how the county mails and verifies ballots and that the county conducts multiple public audits before, during and after every election.

Hatch said mailed-ballot programs introduced in 2015 drove a large increase in turnout and described four “pillars of election integrity” that county staff audit in public meetings. He noted that “we began mailing every active registered voter a ballot, and that drove turnout,” and that the county conducts signature reviews, envelope-control-number checks and hash audits of tabulation equipment in public sessions.

The presentation came as the council heard public comment about election trust and access. Reid Miller, a North Ogden resident, said county and state offices had denied public access to election records after the 2020 election and criticized national registration database ERIC; Miller said, “Our state election system is anything but good.”

Why it matters: Hatch described operational changes that will affect how North Ogden residents receive and return…