Presidential primary ballots mailed out
Anna Stonehouse/The Aspen Times file photo
Ballots for Colorado’s first presidential primary election in 20 years were mailed Monday to registered Democrats and Republicans, Pitkin County’s clerk said.
State voters decided in 2016 to replace Colorado’s caucus system with a primary, which means that registered Republicans and Democrats will receive a ballot with their party’s nominees in the mail. Unaffiliated voters will receive both ballots, though they can return only one.
The ballots will feature 17 Democrats and six Republicans, said Janice Vos Caudill, Pitkin County Clerk and Recorder.
The last day to put the ballots in the mail is Feb. 24, when early voting begins, she said. Before that and after, Pitkin County voters can take ballots to drop-off boxes in front of the Pitkin County Building in Aspen, at Snowmass Village Town Hall and at Basalt Town Hall, she said. The boxes can be used 24 hours a day, seven days a week and are monitored by video surveillance.
Early voting at the Pitkin County Building will take place between Feb. 24 and March 2 from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., with Saturday voting occurring between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m.
For those who don’t want to vote early, Colorado’s presidential primary will take place March 3, when registered voters can go to the Pitkin County Building and vote between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., Vos Caudill said.
Colorado’s renewed presidential primary means that 17-year-olds who will be 18 by Nov. 3 — the date of this year’s presidential election — can participate.
Colorado will hold another primary June 30 to determine who will run for state races and U.S. House and Senate contests in November.
