Plan to Vote Gunnison County: A timeline

League of Women Voters of the Gunnison Valley

By Lyda Hardy, Program Chair

2020 has been rife with disruptions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, wildfires and weather events like our recent September snow storm. Additionally, the United States Post Office has sent out information that does not pertain to how we vote in Colorado, and organizations are sending voter registration forms to households where members are registered.

With all these distractions, citizens need to think ahead about how they will be voting in the November election. Everyone needs a Plan to Vote.

The League of Women Voters of the Gunnison Valley (LWVGV) wants to provide Gunnison County voters with some key dates, information and actions to ensure that your vote is counted. Please clip this article and keep it handy through the election season. The League of Women Voters (LWV) is a 100-year-old national organization dedicated to providing citizens with non-partisan voter information. The websites referenced below are affiliated with the LWV or the Colorado Secretary of State. They are non-partisan and educational.

NOW!

Check your registration at govotecolorado.gov. Make sure your address is current so you receive your mail ballot in October. Ballots are not forwarded by the post office so be sure to verify both your physical and mailing addresses. If your information is not current, make the corrections. When your information is correct, you are good to go.

Need to register? Register online at govotecolorado.gov. Remember, you can register to vote in Colorado up to and including Election Day, but your Voting Plan should not include waiting until the last minute. Get started now.

October 6

If you know you will be unable to receive your mail ballot due to travel, hospitalization or other circumstances, the county clerk will begin issuing ballots for the 2020 general election to any eligible elector who requests one in person at the clerk’s office. Please do not delay if you need an in-person ballot. Plan to Vote. Note: this is for special circumstances. Please do not burden the county clerk’s office because you do not want to wait for your ballot to arrive by mail.

Week of October 12-17

Watch for your mail ballot to arrive this week.

When your ballot arrives, please fill it out as soon as you are ready to vote. By the end of this week, all but the last Presidential Debates will have occurred. The Vice-Presidential, Colorado Senatorial and Third Congressional District debates will be over. State ballot issue information is already available on the LWVGV website, lwvgunnison.org. This week is a good time to study the ballot you have received. Vote411.org includes candidate and issue information on the national, state and local level. Vote411.org allows you to put candidate responses side-by-side so you can compare those seeking office.

Once you fill in your ballot, follow all directions for sealing and signing the envelope. You may mail the ballot back, or you may place it in a county election drop box in Crested Butte at Crank’s Plaza, 507 Maroon Ave., or in Gunnison at the south end of the parking lot in front of the Blackstock Government Center, 221 N. Wisconsin St., or in the box located on the south lawn of the University Center at Western Colorado University. Ballot boxes are the preferred way to return your Gunnison County ballot.

Even after you return your ballot, you may not be done. Track the status of your ballot at colorado.ballottrax.net/voter. You will receive information in your ballot packet on how to opt in or out of this tracking system in which Gunnison County is participating. Any questions on the BallotTrax system should be directed to local election office staffer Robbie Murdie at rmurdie@gunnisoncounty.org or at 641-7927. You can also see whether your ballot has been accepted at the Secretary of State’s website govotecolorado.gov. It may take several days before you see your ballot status updated to “accepted.”

If you see your ballot has not been accepted, do not panic. There are several possible reasons, including: you did not sign your ballot envelope; your signature could not be matched with a signature on file; or your ballot packet notified you that you needed to provide identification with your envelope, and you did not include a copy of a valid form of ID when you returned your ballot envelope. In these cases, you should receive a notification letter from the county clerk. Go to the clerk’s office with proper identification. A list of valid forms of ID can be found on the Secretary of State’s website govotecolorado.gov.

The above issues are rare and should not prevent your ballot from being counted once they are resolved. This is another reason to vote early, so you have time to attend to any problems.

October 19

The Voter Service and Polling Center (VSPC) in Gunnison opens in the parking lot of the Blackstock Government Center, 221 N. Wisconsin St. This is a drive-through center. A VSPC is essentially an extension of the county Elections Office, which can provide all voting services, including: registration, replacement ballots, provisional ballots, ballot boxes to return ballots and ADA accessible voting machines. If you need help, now is the time to head to the VSPC. Please do not wait until the last minute.

The hours for the Blackstock VSPC will be:

Monday through Friday, October 19 to October 23, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, October 24, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Monday through Friday, October 26 to October 30, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, October 31, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Monday, November 2, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

October 22

The last Presidential Debate occurs today. If you have not voted yet, find your ballot and re-read the items above under October 12-17 about where to find voter information and how to submit your ballot.

October 26

This is suggested as the last day citizens should mail their ballots back, eight days before Election Day. Again, the preferred way to return a Gunnison County ballot is in a ballot drop box in front of the Blackstock Building, south of the University Center on the WCU campus, or at Crank’s Plaza in Crested Butte.

If you still need to register to vote, you should visit a VSPC as there may no longer be enough time for a mail ballot to reach you.

If you have returned your ballot, track your ballot at govotecolorado.com or at colorado.ballottrax.net/voter until you see that your ballot is accepted. Once your ballot is accepted, you are done.

October 30

VSPC opens in Crested Butte in the Queen of All Saints Parish Hall, 405 Sopris Ave. A limited number of people will be allowed in Parish Hall at one time, and COVID-19 protocols will be followed for everyone’s safety. If you have waited to vote, you may be waiting outside. Anyone needing help with registration, replacement ballots, provisional ballots or an ADA accessible voting machine may visit any VSPC in Gunnison County.

The hours of operation will be:

Friday, October 30, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Saturday, October 31, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Monday, November 2, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

November 2

VSPC opens on the south lawn in front of the University Center on the campus of Western Colorado University. The hours of operation will be:

Monday, November 2, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Election Day, Tuesday, November 3, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Election Day November 3

Everyone who believes they are a qualified elector can vote in Gunnison County. You may be provided a provisional ballot if you do not have identification or proof of residence. Check the Secretary of State’s website, govotecolorado.gov, to see a list of accepted forms of identification.

If you are voting today, give yourself time, as long waits may occur. VSPCs at the three locations described above are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Every ballot must be in a ballot box by 7 p.m. However, if you are in line at a VSPC at 7 p.m., an election judge will mark the last person waiting to vote and those people can complete the process. The VSPC will not close until those eligible by being in line at 7 p.m. have voted.

Do not mail a ballot. Postmarks are not valid in Colorado.

November 12

This is the last day to “cure” a ballot, eight days after the election. If you have a ballot issue as described above under October 12-17, or you voted a provisional ballot, you must visit the Gunnison County Clerk’s office with proper identification in order for your ballot to be counted. Overseas ballots are still accepted through today.