![\"Rep.](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Moore-Lisonbee-sXs-Scott-G-Winterton-and-Megan-Nielsen-Deseret-News.jpg\")
<\/p>\nSALT LAKE CITY \u2014 Ahead of Tuesday\u2019s primary election, just under 1 in 5 Utah voters have cast their ballots so far.<\/p>\n
Statewide voter turnout, as of 10 a.m. Monday, sat at 19.4%, according to the lieutenant governor\u2019s office. That number is expected to rise to perhaps the mid 30s, elections director Ryan Cowley told KSL, as more voters turn in their ballots before the polls close Tuesday evening.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s different things that bring voters out,\u201d Cowley said. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s the issues, the candidates. Primaries have historically had a lower turnout, so I don\u2019t think this is too far off from what we normally see in a primary election.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are no primary races for governor or U.S. Senate this year, but Utah voters are casting ballots this month in three of four congressional districts, which were recently redrawn following a judge\u2019s order.<\/p>\n
In one of those races \u2014 in the 2nd Congressional District \u2014 allegations of improper mailers have cropped up during the final days of campaigning.<\/p>\n
Some opponents of Rep. Blake Moore\u2019s reelection campaign have raised concerns about postcards recently mailed to voters by his congressional office, questioning whether the postcards run afoul of rules prohibiting unsolicited mass mailings in the 60 days leading up to an election.<\/p>\n
Moore\u2019s office defends the mailers, saying they were sent out in small batches that do not constitute \u201cmass communication\u201d and are not subject to the blackout period.<\/p>\n
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Rep. Blake Moore, R-Utah, faces an intraparty challenge from state Rep. Karianne Lisonbee, R-Syracuse, in the race for Utah\u2019s 2nd Congressional District. (Photo: Scott G Winterton and Megan Nielsen, Deseret News)<\/p>\n
Rick Renda of Ogden said he was \u201cannoyed\u201d by a postcard he received from Moore\u2019s office last week that highlighted the congressman\u2019s work on Medicare and encouraged voters to subscribe to his email newsletter.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re doing this to talk to your constituents about issues that are important and keep them informed of issues that have gone on in Congress \u2026 that\u2019s great, but you shouldn\u2019t be doing it as kind of just a, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m great, vote for me, remember me at primary time,’\u201d Renda told KSL.<\/p>\n
In response to a post on X criticizing Moore for the mailers, his chief of staff, Rachel Wagley, defended the mailers.<\/p>\n
\u201cPer the Administration Committee\u2019s Communications Manual, this is allowed,\u201d she wrote. \u201cThese communications were sent in batches of 499 or less, putting them below the threshold of a \u2018mass communication\u2019 and therefore exempt from blackout rules.\u201d<\/p>\n