County and municipal positions were gubernatorially appointed until legal provisions were made for elections. Territorial agency positions were appointed by the governor or elected by two-thirds vote of the legislature. Papers are present for all these offices. In 1851, territorial law called for annual August elections for openings at the precinctlevel or higher unless otherwise specified by law. Through the territorial years various offices went to biennial elections, until in 1892 the territory as a whole moved to staggered biennial November elections.
Returns give vote counts for various offices or issues from municipal level up.
Related correspondence, particularly in a contested election, may be included. Returns are missing from 1882 through 1891 with the exception of Iron County in 1888 and of Box Elder County and an Ogden school election in 1890. Bonds, oaths, and certificates may be three separate documents or one. Officials had to file a monetary guarantee for their performance in office, nullified if the duties were properly performed, forfeit otherwise. While these bonds are sometimes found in this series, often they were filed with the treasurer or public auditor.