Summit County Council races may be decided after Babalis, Harte primary wins

Christie Babalis and Canice Harte are advancing to the general election. Photo: TownLift

SUMMIT COUNTY, Utah — Christie Babalis and Canice Harte will advance to the general election after winning their Democratic primary races for Summit County Council on June 23.

Unless another candidate files as a write-in candidate by the Aug. 28 deadline, the two candidates would be unopposed in November and would effectively secure the council seats pending certification of the general election results.

The Summit County Board of Canvassers certified the primary election results during a July 7 meeting, officially confirming the results of the first election cycle under the county’s new council district map.

In the District 4 race, Babalis defeated John Kucera by 310 votes to 295 votes. A total of 606 ballots were cast in the race.

In District 5, Harte defeated Meredith Reed by 294 votes to 280 votes, with 574 ballots cast.

The Democratic primary was open to eligible voters in districts where Democratic contests were held. This election cycle, only Districts 4 and 5 had Democratic county council races.

Election officials reported some voter confusion related to the new district boundaries, which took effect this year. Some residents contacted the county after not receiving ballots or discovering they were not eligible to vote in certain races because of the updated district assignments.