Salt Lake City 2023 municipal election overview

Look for mail-in ballots in early November — and don’t forget to rank your choices when you vote. Graphic courtesy of the Salt Lake City Recorder’s Office.

This post is a sponsored informational piece prepared by the Salt Lake City Recorder’s Office.

Salt Lake City voters this year will have the opportunity to use ranked choice voting (RCV) to select city leaders. The city’s general election will be held on Tuesday, Nov. 21. Candidates for mayor and four City Council districts are on the ballot.

In ranked choice voting, voters rank multiple candidates in a preferred order rather than choosing just one candidate. The voting method was authorized by the Utah Legislature in 2018 with passage of the Municipal Alternate Voting Methods Pilot Project.

The mayoral candidates are incumbent Mayor Erin Mendenhall, former Mayor Ross C. “Rocky” Anderson, and Michael Valentine. The winner will serve a four-year term.

Of the four City Council races, three are for four-year terms. In District 2, council member Alejandro Puy is running unopposed. In District 4, incumbent Ana Valdemoros is vying for reelection against challengers Eva Lopez Chavez and Clayton Scrivner. In District 6, incumbent Dan Dugan is running to keep his seat with challenges from James Alfandre, Jack Bellows, and Taymour B. Semnani.

The fourth City Council race is for a two-year seat in District 7, where council member Sarah Young – who recently filled a vacancy – is running against Molly Jones.

The Board of Canvassers is tentatively scheduled to meet in early December on Dec. 5 or 6 to certify the election results. In the event of a recount, the Board of Canvassers will need to meet again before Dec. 13.

For more information on ranked choice voting, visit www.slc.gov/elections.

To register to vote or update your voter information, visit www.slco.org/clerk/elections.

To read candidate biographies and for more voter information, visit www.vote.utah.gov.