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Primary ballots go out to all registered voters next week

Ballots for June 26 primaries go out June 4

Unaffiliated voters who did not make a preference between Democrat and Republican with county election officials by Tuesday will see two ballots in the mail next week, but only one can be completed and returned.

Ballots will go to the Post Office on June 4, and most voters should receive them by June 7, Garfield County Clerk and Recorder Jean Alberico said.

“The voter instructions sent with the ballot and on the return envelope for the voted ballot tell the voter to select, vote and return only one voted ballot,” Alberico explained. “If the voter votes on both ballots and returns both ballots, then neither ballot will be counted.”

Voters affiliated with the Democratic or Republican party will automatically receive their party’s ballot. Both ballots include nominees in several key open races, including governor, attorney general, state treasurer and, on the Democratic side, the 3rd Congressional District.

Garfield County Republican voters will also be deciding between two candidates, Lynette Lacerda and Bonnie McLean, to face Alberico, the Democratic incumbent, in the November general election for Clerk and Recorder.

Colorado voters in the 2016 election approved Proposition 108, which allowed participation for unaffiliated voters in primary elections without have to affiliate with any party. The June 26 primary will be the first time in state history that unaffiliated voters will be able to participate in the primary without first choosing to be a member of a particular party.

However, unaffiliated voters can only participate in either the Republican or Democratic primary, and cannot vote a split ballot between the parties, according to the provisions of the new law.

If voters do not have their ballots by June 14, they should contact the Garfield County election department at 970-384-3700, option 2, to determine if a ballot was mailed to their current address.

Monday, June 18, is the last day ballots can be mailed to voters. After that date, voters must appear in person at a Voter Service and Polling Center (VSPC) to pick up a ballot or vote in person, Alberico said.

VSPCs will be open June 18-26 at the Garfield County Clerk’s Office, Room 200 at the courthouse in Glenwood Springs, and at the Rifle County Administration Building, 195 W. 14th St., in Rifle.

Both sites will be open on Saturday, June 23, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. for voters’ convenience. On election day, there will be five additional VSPCs open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Carbondale, Glenwood Springs, New Castle, Silt and Parachute.

“We encourage voters to use a drop-off box location to return voted ballots,” Alberico said, explaining there are now three 24/7 drop-boxes in Garfield County — at Carbondale Town Hall, at the Courthouse in Glenwood Springs on Eighth Street, and at the Rifle County Administration Building in Rifle at 195 W. 14th St.

Ballots can also be dropped off at the New Castle, Silt,and Parachute town halls during normal working hours and at the Rifle Administration Building or the Clerk’s Office at the courthouse during normal working hours.


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