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Hundreds register to vote in flurry of activity in La Plata County

700 residents have signed up so far this month

About 700 residents have registered to vote so far this month in La Plata County – a flurry of activity unlike any other year in the past two decades, said Clerk and Recorder Tiffany Lee Parker.

“I do not remember in Colorado seeing it like this before; I do not remember this much activity this soon,” she said.

Parker attributes the influx to a hotly contested presidential race and an aggressive get-out-the-vote effort on Facebook and by various registration groups.

“We’re seeing voters that have never voted in their whole lives,” Parker said. “We have residents that have lived here for 40 years (and not voted). One gentleman was in his 80s and had never voted his whole life.”

Kayla Armstrong, 45, of Ignacio, said the last time she voted was for George W. Bush in 2004. She felt compelled to vote in this election, saying everyone’s voice needs to be heard.

The registered Republican said she plans to vote for Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, calling Republican nominee Donald Trump a “racist.”

“We all need to ban together as a community to try to figure out who we want in there and who we don’t want,” she said.

For Stephen Lister, 49, of Durango, it will be his first vote as an American citizen. Before this election, he was a citizen of the United Kingdom.

Lister, who registered as unaffiliated, said he’s not enthusiastic about either candidate, but he’s motivate to vote for the “lesser of two evils.”

“My interest in this election is probably a defensive vote so that the individual that I do not like particularly will not get elected,” he said. “It’s not a very good opportunity for my first vote.”

When asked which candidate is the lesser of two evils, he said, “Use your imagine,” and declined to be more specific.

Of the 698 people who registered to vote as of noon Monday this month, 138 signed up as Republicans, 193 as Democrats, 336 as unaffiliated and 31 as something else, Parker said.

Another 1,414 residents have come in this month to update their voting information, she said, which can include address changes or changing party affiliation.

“You turn around everywhere and people are talking about the election,” she said. “People are just way more attentive to this.”

Residents who want to register or change an address have until Oct. 31 if they want to receive a mail ballot. Mail ballots begin going out Oct. 17.

Even after Oct. 31, residents can visit designated voting centers through Election Day to register and cast ballots.

shane@durangoherald.com



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