The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Cast ballots in person at this point; deadline March 3
By Katherine Nettles
The 2020 presidential primary election is well under way in Gunnison County. The election office started accepting ballots on Monday, February 24 and encourages voters to cast their ballots as soon as possible in order to avoid delays in the results next Tuesday.
The Gunnison County election office mailed out 11,221 ballots this year, and as for how many the office expects to receive, “That’s a wild card,” said Kathy Simillion, county clerk and recorder. “There hasn’t been a presidential primary in many years, so it’s hard, not having anything to gauge it on.” The last presidential primary in Colorado was in 2000.
Gunnison County elections director Diane Folowell said voters in the northern end of the valley have been slow in returning their ballots, and if that trend doesn’t change, results will be difficult to manage on Super Tuesday. “The sooner [voters] get the ballots in, the sooner they get results on election night,” she said. “If we get hammered between 6 and 7 p.m. that night, then it’s going to be tough. I don’t know what to anticipate.”
As of Wednesday morning, February 26, 2,657 ballots had been returned county-wide.
The first results upload on Super Tuesday will occur by 7:05 p.m., said Folowell, and the next one after that will depend on how many last-minute ballots get cast.
Folowell emphasized that it is now too late to mail in ballots, and voters should cast their votes at one of two Voter Service and Polling Center locations between now and March 3. In Crested Butte, the Queen of All Saints Parish is accepting ballots Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. On March 3 (Election Day), the parish will accept ballots from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
In Gunnison, the Blackstock Government Center is accepting ballots Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., and on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. There is also a ballot drop box outside the Blackstock Center in the parking lot. ADA-accessible machines are available at both locations, and if voters did not receive a ballot or need to register to vote, they can take care of that in person up until 7 p.m. on election night. Questions can be directed to the election office at (970) 641-7927.
Super Tuesday will be the first of three elections this year, with the Colorado state primary election June 30 and the general election on November 3.
