Will Eagle County see a flood of ballots on Election Day?
Still haven’t voted yet in Colorado? Here’s how you can
Nate Peterson/Vail Daily
As of Monday, fewer ballots had arrived at the Eagle County Clerk and Recorder’s Office in Eagle than in 2020.
Eagle County Clerk and Recorder Regina O’Brien reported that as of Monday morning, her office had received about 18,000 ballots through drop boxes, the mail, and at election centers. That’s about 6,000 fewer ballots than the same time in 2020. O’Brien said the lower early turnout “seems to be the case across the state.”
In an email, O’Brien added she’s hoping for “robust” returns the rest of Monday, and her election team continues to plan for a “very high volume” of ballots arriving on Election Day.
It’s too late to mail ballots, but ballots can still be returned to drop boxes in Eagle, Gypsum, Edwards, Avon, Vail, Basalt or El Jebel or in person at election centers in Vail, Avon, Eagle and El Jebel.
O’Brien said she and her team hope to have all the votes counted on election night. But, with snow in the forecast, and the possibility of a flood of last-minute voters, the weather may delay the physical delivery of ballots to Eagle.
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“Our judges and staff will have been working for many hours, and we want to make sure people get some rest and can get home safely,” O’Brien wrote.
“We have election judges scheduled to resume between 9 and 10 a.m. on Nov. 6 to complete the counting process if that is the case,” she wrote
O’Brien noted that she “won’t sacrifice the accuracy of the work or the safety of our judges if election day returns are significant.”
Still haven’t voted yet in Colorado? Here’s how you can
There’s still time to register to vote and cast a ballot in Colorado.
State law allows for same-day voter registration. Residents will need a valid Social Security number, Colorado driver’s license or Colorado ID card to do so. Residents can register to vote online on the Colorado secretary of state’s website at GoVoteColorado.gov or in person at voting stations or county clerks’ offices.
For voters who have received a mail ballot and have not returned it, it is too late to mail it back. Voters will need to return their ballot at a drop-off box or an in-person voting center. Voters can go to the Secretary of State’s Go Vote Colorado page and enter their address to see nearby locations for both.
Voters can track the status of their mail ballot, once returned, online at ColoradoBallotTrax.com. Ballots must be returned by 7 p.m.
For voters whose mail ballots are lost or damaged or who want to fill out a ballot in person, they can vote in person at a voting center where they will be asked to show a valid ID. The secretary of state’s website provides a list of 16 acceptable forms of ID, which includes a Colorado driver’s license, U.S. passport or employee identification card.
Voting centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day. Voters waiting in line to cast a ballot will be able to do so as long as they are in line before 7 p.m.
As of 11:59 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, nearly 2.1 million ballots have been returned in Colorado, according to data from the secretary of state’s website. There are more than 4 million active registered voters.
Unaffiliated voters, who account for most of the state’s registered electorate, have cast over 818,000 ballots while Democrats have cast over 609,000 and Republicans have cast over 570,000.
During this time in 2020, the last presidential election, unaffiliated voters had returned nearly 950,000 ballots while Democrats had returned over 862,000 and Republicans had returned 728,000.
Mail voting was particularly heightened during that election due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has since subsided, meaning larger in-person Election Day turnout is possible in 2024.
This year’s ballot will be longer than usual, with Colorado voters being asked to weigh in on elections for federal and state office alongside 14 statewide measures. Those range from constitutional amendments on gay marriage, abortion access and school choice to initiatives that would implement ranked choice voting and ban big cat hunting.
Voters will also be asked about local races, such as county commissioner candidates and taxation questions, depending on where they’re registered to vote in Colorado.
Live election results will be posted online at VailDaily.com/election beginning after 7 p.m.
— Regional reporter Robert Tann contributed reporting.
