Amongst the COVID restrictions and the media outpour, the General Election is fast approaching!
The Yuma County Clerk’s office has been diligently working on ensuring your ballots are created properly and getting ready to mail. New registrations and registrations are transacted on a daily basis. Overseas Military and citizens ballots were sent on September 19, 2020. Overseas Military and citizens also have the option to vote electronically.
We are approximately 30 days from Election Day and all voters should verify their voting information by visiting www.govotecolorado.gov. We also have seen an influx of people moving into the county and would encourage them to register to vote, however, when you are changing your driver’s license to a Colorado license or updating/renewing a Colorado driver’s license, you will be registered to vote or your voter registration is updated automatically.
When mailing your ballot, remember post marks DO NOT COUNT and it takes a minimum of 5 to 7 days for mail to go from Yuma to Wray, so please utilize the various drop boxes. A detailed list of drop boxes are listed in an advertisement in this week’s paper.
One of the most common questions is “What are my options to make sure my vote is valid and counted?” Upon receiving the ballot, you have several options to return it. OPTION ONE is to mail your ballot, but you need to remember that the ballot HAS to arrive in our office by 7:00 p.m. Election Day. OPTION TWO is to drop it in any of the drop boxes located in Wray and Yuma. The location of the drop boxes will be listed in the paper this week. OPTION THREE is to visit the VSPC beginning October 19 thru November 2 during regular business hours. Or you may visit the VSPC on Election Day 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. New this year, Colorado has an app to track your ballot. The app is BallotTrax.com and you need an email address to use the app. You may also phone our office at any time to see what stage your ballot is in.
Election Offenses:
C.R.S. 1-13-106 Forgery- Any person who falsely makes, alters, forges, or counterfeits any ballot before or after it has been cast, or who forges any name of a person as a signer or witness to a petition or nomination paper, or who forges any letter of acceptance, declination, or withdrawal, or who forges the name of a registered elector to a voter’s mail-in or mail ballot commits forgery which is a class five 5 felony.
C.R.S. 1-13-112 Offenses relating to mail ballots – Any person who, by use of force or other means, unduly influences an elector to vote in any particular manner or to refrain from voting, or who falsely makes, alters, forges, or counterfeits any mail ballot before or after it has been cast, or who destroys, defaces, mutilates, or tampers with such a ballot shall be punished by a fine of not more than five thousand dollars, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than eighteen months, or by both such fine and imprisonment.
