Printer problems force Utah County to print thousands of emergency ballots

PROVO — Printer problems at several polling places in Utah County are forcing election officials to print thousands of emergency ballots.

Aaron Davidson, Utah County elections director, said there were printer problems at the Highland and Pleasant Grove polling stations Tuesday night caused by older printers running out of toner.

“It's almost as if people fasted before in-person elections and in this election they decided to enjoy it. This shows that there is demand; There is an interest in in-person voting,” Davidson said.

It was later confirmed that there were also printing issues at the Payson and Orem polling stations.

Davidson said that to officials' knowledge, no one was turned away from voting. He said the problem was that polling stations received thousands more voters than expected.

“I wasn’t prepared, but we were prepared based on the information we had,” Davidson said. “I have great trust in my employees. They have done a remarkable job and know what they are doing.”

Officials had to print thousands of emergency ballots at the Utah County Polling Processing Center in Provo and then take them to the two affected polling places.