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Sometime between Wednesday and Friday, most Salt Lake County residents should receive ballots in the mail for what has turned out to be a busy general election in November.

County Clerk Sherrie Swensen said 402,000 ballots were on track to be trucked Monday night to the U.S. Post Office, which then will distribute ballots to homes countywide over the next few days. Fourteen of 16 Salt Lake County cities have gone to vote by mail, with West Valley City and Taylorsville the only holdouts.

All of those ballot recipients also will get a note advising them where to get more information about a proposition to increase sales taxes for local transportation projects and transit.

Even more election materials will be mailed to unincorporated-area households — voter information guides to help residents understand the issues involved in Community Preservation elections for the six townships and around 40 islands of unincorporated land.

"It started out as strictly a municipal election, then it became Community Preservation, which added the unincorporated areas, and now it's countywide with the county transit tax option," Swensen said.

She is expecting this mass mailing to produce impressive return, at least compared to typically low voter turnouts in non-presidential election years.

"Since we had such a great turnout in the municipal primary — 32 percent overall, 40 percent in Salt Lake City — I'm hoping we could hit 60 percent," Swensen said. "This is so convenient for voters I'm sure we'll see a record turnout, and I'm hoping it's higher than I anticipate. Postage is paid, so people don't have to worry about buying stamps."

Salt Lake City Recorder Cindi Mansell noted that ballots must be postmarked by Nov. 2.

Besides the mailing option, over the next month people may take filled-out ballots to a dozen secure dropboxes around the Salt Lake Valley (locations available on the county website) along with four in Salt Lake City — River's Bend Northwest Senior Center, Sorenson Multicultural Center, Trolley Square and First Congregational Church.

Information about the transportation tax, in which counties are allowed to raise sales taxes by a quarter cent, is available on the state lieutenant governor's website, http://www.elections.utah.gov, or the county's website, http://www.slco.org/clerk.

The county website also has the voter information pamphlet for the Community Preservation election. While the county is offering to send printed copies of that pamphlet to anyone who requests it, Swensen said she is hoping most people will do their research online.