BAYFIELD – At station one, Bayfield voters received latex gloves and a pen from election judges wearing masks, eye protection, gloves and plastic ponchos.
“They’ll keep the gloves and pen with them all the way out,” said Bayfield Marshal Joe McIntyre. “They dispose of them, do whatever they want with them.”
Bayfield, Ignacio and 100 other Colorado municipalities got creative with their elections Tuesday because of the coronavirus outbreak – they had no other choice.
Gov. Jared Polis has issued many orders in response to the pandemic to protect Coloradans, but none allowed municipalities to postpone their elections. In Ignacio and Bayfield, government officials urged voters to use absentee ballots, and otherwise prepared poll workers to safely interact with dozens of voters.
“We had no way to cancel the election. No way to do mail ballots because it was too late. The absentee ballot deadline passed, and nobody picked up an absentee ballot,” said Katie Sickles, Bayfield interim town manager.
“So we had to organize a polling place election in some way and also keep our election judges and the voting public safe,” she said.
Both towns adapted. They erected tents and stop signs to create a three-station voting system. They set up cones and blocked off entrances to guide traffic through the process. Election judges wore their personal protective equipment while learning how to conduct the voting process.
Everything had to be done in compliance with election laws.
“I was probably the most nervous about this. I take my job very seriously, and I want to do everything by the book,” said Tuggy Dunton, Ignacio town clerk and election judge. “I think we’ve done pretty well.”
Election planners knew the judges would come into contact with dozens if not more than 100 people during the voting process. Often, volunteer judges were older adults, said McIntyre, which means they are more vulnerable to severe cases of COVID-19.
“It’s definitely a concern with everything that you see in the news and how bad this stuff is,” said Mark Robinson, a first-time election judge and Bayfield Parks and Recreation maintenance supervisor. “I was pretty concerned in the beginning, but it’s been a smooth process.”
In Bayfield, all of the judges were staff members; in Ignacio, half were staff, half volunteer.
While Bayfield election judges were almost unrecognizable in their personal protective equipment, some Ignacio judges had thrown off their masks by the end of the day. They still wore gloves, maintained social distancing and when necessary, used Lysol wipes.
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Sickles said. “We certainly had a couple that sounded sick, but we made sure that we did what we needed to do without getting too close.”
The effort meant a lot to Ignacio voter Cecilia Robbins.
“We’re human. We need to be able to adapt,” Robbins said. “I’m one of those high-risk people, so I’m glad we’re able to do this.”
According to unofficial results, Bayfield voters elected incumbent Kristin Dallison, and two newcomers, Aaron Wamsley and Lori Zazzaro, to the Town Board.
Dallison received the most votes, 91, while Wamsley and Zazzaro finished in a near tie, receiving 73 and 72 votes, respectively. Incumbent candidate David Black missed the cut with only 64 votes. Election officials received 112 total ballots out of 1,600 eligible voters.
Ashleigh Tarkington ran unopposed for mayor and received 105 votes, although one person did write in a vote for Matt Salka, current mayor and county commissioner candidate.
Both new candidates emphasized stimulating the recreation economy during the campaigns. In fact, Wamsley, a Bayfield Primary School teacher, ran almost exclusively on that premise. He also prioritized high-speed internet and youth activities.
Zazzaro, an emergency manager for San Juan Basin Public Health, also focused on recreation, internet and youth activities. She emphasized spurring the local small business economy.
Dallison, a stay-at-home mother, focused on continuing current town projects and increasing law enforcement capacity.
Town staff members were still determining results as of 10 p.m. Tuesday.
Five candidates competed for three seats on the Town Board. The candidates included three incumbent town trustees – Alison deKay, Sandra Maez and Edward Box III – and two newcomers, Chris May and Mandy Brown.
It was set to be a competitive election. Current board members faced pushback from May, Brown and other community members. During meetings, May and Brown questioned budget details, the handling of a recent utility rate increase, town transparency and the interim town manager’s pay.
The candidates also focused on the town’s financial stability, teamwork and continuing town projects when their campaigns started in early March.
At 5 p.m., 158 residents had turned in ballots out of about 430 eligible voters.
Voter turnout increased significantly compared with the 2018 Town Board election when 58 people voted, Dunton said. In that election, three people ran for three spots.
“I think people are expressing their opinions, and I’m really happy about that,” she said.
smullane@durangoherald.com
