Hi, Lily.
Hi Marilyn.
The KDNK news team is here to get you ready to vote in this November's election. I'm Marilyn Gleason.
And I'm Lily Jones.
Gleason: Come along with us as we work through all the details of this November's election.
Jones: So you know your vote counts.
Gleason: Okay. Election day is always the first Tuesday in November this year, that's November 4th. On November 4th, you can vote or drop off ballots until 7:00 PM. If you are in line to vote, then you will be able to vote.
Jones: There's a lot more information at the Colorado Secretary of State's website under Voter FAQs and on KDNK's website, where we have a voter's guide with links to all the outside information. Colorado makes it really easy to vote. Let's go through some things you might want to know. There are a few ways to vote. There's mail-in voting, early in-person voting, in-person voting on election day, or you can drop off your ballot in a special box. You have to be eligible to vote. You need to be a citizen, at least 18 years old, and you also have to be registered.
Gleason: Lily, I didn't realize you can register right up to the last minute in Colorado. You sure can. You need a valid ID, and if you vote in person, you will also need to bring an ID, and we'll talk more about that later. Bottom line, if you're a procrastinator, the last minute you can register to vote. Is November 4th in person at 7:00 PM on election day or on October 27th to vote by mail.
Jones: You can register online if you have a driver's license or a state ID card from the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles or a social security number. You can register online at the Secretary of State's website, which is sos.state.co us.
Gleason: You can register by mail, email, or fax. Fax, Lily. Download and complete the Colorado voter registration form at the Secretary of State's office and send it to your county clerk and recorder's office, or you can call your county clerk and recorder's office to request that a paper copy of the registration form be mailed to you. Then mail, fax, email, or hand-deliver back the completed form. Okay, so now you're registered.
Jones: Every registered Colorado voter gets a mail-in ballot in this year's election. Garfield County mailed more than 39,000 ballots on October 10th, and you can now drop your ballot off at your local ballot box, which is open 24/7. For military and overseas voters, your ballot went out even earlier on September 20th. The deadline to get a mail-in ballot if you don't already have one is October 27th, and we'll tell you more about that in a minute.
Gleason: To get your ballot by mail, you can register to vote or update your voter registration online through October 27th. That's at www.govotecolorado.gov. You can submit an application through the mail at a voter registration agency or at a local driver's license office through October 27th, or if you miss those deadlines, you can register in person at a voter service and polling center or election site in your county through Election Day. We'll tell you where those are in a bit too.
Jones: So remember, your options are to vote by mail, drop off your ballot or vote in person. And there are a couple of ways to vote in person. Early in-person voting starts on October 27th, and that continues through until election day. If you vote in person in Colorado, you will need to show ID if your ID shows your address, that address must be in Colorado.
Gleason: Lily, how about updating my voter registration information?
Jones: You can check and edit your registration status on the Secretary of State's website. You'll need to do this if you change your name or your address, and you can also decide to change your political affiliation there.
Gleason: Okay. About identification... used to be, Lily I remember when you just walked into that polling place, they checked your name on these sheets of paper on the voter roll, and you voted. No ID check- but not anymore. It's not like getting a driver's license though either. In Colorado, they really accept a lot of different documents as valid ID.
Jones: Yes, they do. You can provide a valid Colorado driver's license or an ID card issued by the Department of Revenue or a valid US passport. They also accept tribal identification, military identification, birth certificates, veteran ID, and a certified document of naturalization.
Gleason: You can also use a Medicare or a Medicaid ID, even current utility bills, bank statements, government checks, paychecks, or other government documents showing a name and address are valid as long as they are pretty current within the last 60 days. You can find more information about all of these forms of ID on the Secretary of State's website.
Jones: Homeless people are also going to need a valid form of identification as well as a mailing address so that the state can send them important voting information. They can use a nearby shelter even if they don't live there, a religious center, a nearby PO box, or the address of a friend or family member. And then there's general delivery, which is a service that the USPS offers. It's mailing for those without a permanent address, and it's totally free to use and needs no application, but you might have to go and speak with your local USPS office and they can help you set it up.
Gleason: You can also vote in person in this election. I like doing it that way. It's pretty social.
Jones: Here's where in Garfield County, the Glenwood Springs Community Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 5:00 PM and the Garfield County fairgrounds, specifically the South Hall, are also open Monday through Friday for the same hours. Both sites are open Saturday, November 1st from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM and on election day from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
Gleason: On Election Day, there will be some additional locations to vote. That's on November 4th. Polling places are open from 7:00 AM to 7:00 PM at Carbondale Town Hall and at the Parachute Town Hall. In Lake County and Leadville, early voting is open at the clerk's office at 505 Harrison Avenue starting October 22nd. You can go on Monday through Friday from October 27th to November 3rd from 8:30 to 4:30 in the afternoon, November 1st from 8:00 AM to noon, November 3rd from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM, and Election Day is seven in the morning to seven in the evening.
Jones: Other services available at Leadville polling sites include a DA accessible voting equipment voter registration, those ballot drop off boxes that we were talking about earlier, as well as replacement ballots.
Gleason: In Eagle County. 24-hour drop boxes are collecting your ballots in Basalt, El Jebel, Gypsum and Edwards, and in Eagle, Avon, and Vail. The voter centers open on November 27th. That's on a Monday in Avon. It's at 100 Mikaela Way, the Avon Town Hall in Eagle. It's at the Eagle County Building at 500 Broadway and in Bel. It's also at the Eagle County Building, at Crown Mountain Park. The Vail Voting Center opens on November 30th. It's in the grand view room at the top of the Lions head parking structure. Voting will be taking place on weekdays from eight to five on November 1st from eight to five on the Saturday, from nine to one, and on election day from seven to seven in Eagle County. You can call the Eagle County Clerk at 970-328-8715, or email at elections@eaglecounty.us for more information about voting there.
Jones: Another easy way to vote is to fill out your ballot at home and then bring it to a drop off box. If you don't mail your ballot by October 28th, you will need to take it to a drop-off box or a polling place. A few reminders.. check your voter registration status with the Colorado Secretary of State, update your address if needed, and sign up for ballot tracking. There's a couple different ways to track your ballot. You can contact your local county clerk and recorder's office to see where it is, or you can sign up for BallotTrax, which is spelled T-R-A-X, and that's a system that will allow you to track your ballot from it being sent to it being accepted via text message.
Gleason: Your county clerk is your main election official. Here's where you can find the county clerks in our counties where KDNK broadcasts. The Garfield County clerk is downtown at 109 eighth Street, Suite 200 in Glenwood Springs in Eagle County. The county clerk is at 500 Broadway, Suite 101 in Eagle, and in Lake County go to Leadville at 505 Harrison Avenue. Lily, what if I wreck my ballot or my dog Yankee eats it, or you know, I kind of have a tendency to lose things.
Jones: That is no big deal because you can either request a replacement ballot from your hardworking county clerk or you can go vote in person at your closest polling place.
Gleason: Remember, postmarks do not count on your mail-in ballot. The county clerk has to receive your ballot by 7:00 PM on November 4th. Postmarks do not count. There's a new law in Colorado as of January 1st. This year, 15-year-olds can now pre-register to vote, although they still won't be allowed to vote until they're 18 years old. Is there anything else we should know about Lily?
Jones: Well, ballots can be rejected for relatively minor voter errors. During big US elections, hundreds of thousands of mail ballots are typically thrown out and left uncounted, but you get additional time to cure a ballot, and the last day to do so is November 12th.
Gleason: Okay, well, that's about everything you need to know to vote. Lily, have you got your ballot yet?
Jones: I have my ballot, but I have not filled it out.
Gleason: I've got my ballot too. Those mail-in ballots have been sent out, and you should have received yours by now. I hope you'll all go out and vote and participate in our democracy.
