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Eagle County voters will see one of 59 unique ballot styles

Ballots must be prepared based on what precinct a voter lives in

Turnout has been light for this year's election.
Vail Daily archive

This story has been corrected to reflect that all Eagle County residents are in the state’s Fifth Judicial District.

The ballot you’ll receive for the Nov. 8 general election will be fairly straightforward. At the Eagle County Clerk and Recorder’s Office, employees are engaged in the equivalent of straightening out a plate of spaghetti.

While the statewide ballot was certified Monday, Eagle County Clerk and Recorder Regina O’Brien’s staff will need some time to finish the 59 separate ballot styles required by law.



Mark your calendars

Sept. 22: Logic and accuracy testing
Week of Oct. 17: Ballots will be mailed to all Eagle County voters.
Oct. 17: 24-hour drop boxes open
Oct. 24: Vote centers open.
Oct. 31: The last day ballots can be mailed.
Nov. 8: Election day.
For more information, go to the Eagle County Clerk and Recorder’s website.

While the county relies on mail ballots, or asks voters to return ballots to one of several drop boxes, ballots must be printed by precinct. That ensures that someone in, say, Gypsum, doesn’t vote for Vail-specific issues. But even some precincts in the same area will see different ballots.

O’Brien said she and her staff should have all the various permutations worked out and ready to view by Sept. 23 or so.

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Here’s a quick, general rundown of who’s voting on what this fall.

Everyone: Races for governor and U.S. Senate, as well as three proposed constitutional amendments and eight statutory propositions.

All voters in the county will also be asked whether to retain eight judges on the Colorado Court of Appeals.

Voters in the county will also be asked whether to retain four judges in the 5th Judicial District.

All county voters will also see races for County Commissioner District 3, as well as races for county clerk and recorder, treasurer, assessor, coroner, surveyor and sheriff.

Only the county commissioner and sheriff’s races are contested.

County voters this fall will be asked to form a regional transportation authority, but voters will see different questions depending on where they live.

With the exception of the Roaring Fork Valley portion of the county, all the towns and the Beaver Creek Metro District will have their own questions about forming the authority. People in unincorporated Eagle County will also see a unique question. People in the Roaring Fork Valley won’t see that question, as it doesn’t apply there.

Voters in unincorporated Eagle County and Gypsum will see a proposed county lodging tax. Gypsum doesn’t have a lodging tax, but all the county’s other towns do. That means the question doesn’t apply to those voters.

Different ballots will also be sent out depending on which congressional, and state legislative districts voters live in.

The county is mostly in the 2nd Congressional District, but a small portion is in the 3rd Congressional District. Similarly, the county is divided in state legislative districts. While most of the county is in House District 26 and Senate District 8, the Roaring Fork Valley portion of the county is in House District 57 and Senate District 5.

The town of Avon has a Town Council election this fall, and the towns of Eagle and Vail are asking voters to allow the local governments to keep money collected in excess of the limits imposed by the state’s Taxpayers Bill of Rights, or TABOR, amendment.

Figuring out who gets what ballot is a daunting task.

O’Brien said the state ballot arrived at roughly 6 p.m. Monday, and she and her staff stayed in the office until roughly 2 a.m. Tuesday doing the initial work of breaking down the dozens of ballot styles. O’Brien said she expected several more long, long days until all the ballot styles are sorted.

“There’s so much involved in this,” O’Brien said.


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