Preparations are underway for the 2023 Municipal Primary and General elections.
The Eagle Mountain Municipal General Election will be held in November of this year, but the City Recorder’s Office has been preparing since February.
Lianne Pengra, Chief Deputy Recorder with Eagle Mountain City, says that the Recorder’s Office is responsible for putting together a candidate orientation guide and information packet each election cycle.
“It basically lists every single important date that [candidates] are going to have from the time that they sign up to the time that they are sworn in,” says Pengra.
The Recorder’s Office updates the pamphlet each election cycle to reflect changes and decisions made during the state’s legislative session, held the beginning of each year, according to Pengra.
This year, three seats on the Eagle Mountain City Council will be up for election. The terms will run from 2024 through 2027.
The filing period for declaration of candidacy will begin June 1 and end on June 7 at 5 p.m.
Residents who are interested in becoming a candidate for municipal office must file a declaration of candidacy in-person with the City Recorder’s Office.
Prospective candidates must be U.S. citizens, at least 18 years old, registered to vote and must have lived in Eagle Mountain (or a recently annexed area) for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the election.
When the filing period for declaration of candidacy closes, the Recorder’s Office will determine if a primary election is necessary. If more than six candidates file to run for City Council, then a primary election will be held on Aug. 15 to determine the six candidates that will appear on the general election ballot.
Each election cycle, voter turnout is carefully measured on the municipal, county, state and federal levels. For last year’s 2022 General Election, Eagle Mountain voting precincts had an average voter turnout of 55.67%, compared to the county average of 62%, according to the Utah County Elections Division.
Pengra says mayoral elections usually have a larger voter turnout than elections for other municipal offices.
“The margins are there that every vote really does matter,” says Pengra, noting how the 2021 mayoral election was decided by 207 votes. “If you feel passionate about something and there’s a candidate that really stands for what you believe in, your vote matters,” she says.
Pengra also encourages students to get out and vote in the Eagle Mountain City Youth City Council election, which will take place May 9. A ballot box polling location will be placed at City Hall from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“[Residents] can have their students get a jumpstart on the election season by bringing them [to City Hall] to vote,” Pengra says.
The voter registration deadline for the general municipal election in Eagle Mountain will be Oct. 27. Voter registration must be received by the Utah County Clerk before 5 p.m. that day.
Residents who are not registered to vote may still do so by casting a provisional ballot during the early voting period. If necessary, the voter registration deadline for the primary election will be Aug. 4 at 5 p.m.
Following the election on Nov. 7, newly-elected municipal officers will begin their terms at Noon on the first Monday of the new year, and will take their oath of office at the first City Council meeting in January.
For more information on Eagle Mountain municipal elections, visit the City’s Elections & Voting website.
