(Rick Egan | Tribune file photo) In this July 1 file photo, Lannie Chapman, Salt Lake County Chief Deputy Clerk, prepares primary election ballots for counting at the Salt Lake County Government Center. Counties in Utah contract with a variety of printers to handle ballots and while things usually go smoothly there have been several elections with major problems involving by-mail ballots. In those cases, the county generally blames the printer and the printer points the finger at the county.
Zak is the southeast Utah reporter for The Tribune. He has been writing from Bluff, Utah, since 2015 and is the author of Confluence: Navigating the Personal & Political On Rivers of the New West. His second book, which will cover the decline of Lake Powell, is forthcoming from Torrey House Press in 2024.