DENVER – Coloradans who want to vote early in future elections may have to travel a little further to a voting center in the weeks leading up to election day.
Senate Bill 71, which reduces the required number of voting centers during the first week of the early voting period, was approved upon second reading Tuesday night by the Colorado Senate during a special session of evening floor work.
The bill is intended to cut waste by allowing counties to reduce the number of locations early in the voting period, when they average two voters per hour.
Instead, they would stay open later on election week, when voters show up in larger numbers, said Sen. Jack Tate, R-Centennial and sponsor of SB 71.
For counties with a population less than 300,000, such as La Plata, this would mean increasing the ratio of registered electors to voting centers from 30,000-1 to 75,000-1 during the first week of early voting and 50,000-1 in the second week.
The current limits were put in place when the state transitioned to the new system four years ago, and there were concerns over people wanting to vote in person, Tate said. But as more individuals turn to mail-in ballots or voting on election day, it’s time to re-evaluate the requirements and ensure taxpayer funds are used wisely.
“Voter behavior is not different than me trying to get some research paper done in grad school – waiting until the last minute, and that’s what data shows,” he said.
But there were concerns brought up during debate over weighing availability of longer hours during the final days of an election over the accessibility to voters earlier in the process, especially for areas where poverty is prevalent.
“What it’s missing, it’s missing the voice of someone who doesn’t have a car, it’s missing the voice of someone who doesn’t drive,” said Sen. Rhoda Fields, D-Aurora.
But these concerns were overlooked in favor of focusing on high traffic days and the potential financial benefits of the bill.
Tate said the reductions under SB 71 could save about $1,200 a day per center in rental costs.
There are no rental costs in La Plata County, as the centers’ locations are either county-owned or already being rented, but there are personnel costs that could be reduced, said Tiffany Parker, La Plata County clerk and recorder and who supports the measure.
The financial relief for La Plata County would be about $3,200 per election if it could close the polling center in Bayfield during the first week of voting, Parker said. That shouldn’t greatly affect voter access, as only 52 voters used the Bayfield location during the first week of voting for the 2016 general election.
“This would help us to be more in line with what is appropriate for our size county,” she said.
Parker said because of La Plata County’s budget situation, every dollar saved is crucial to its ability to provide other services.
Tate echoed the sentiment.
“Even if some county saves a $1,000, maybe that’s the mental health care for somebody versus people sitting around an empty room staring at the ceiling,” he said.
lperkins@durangoherald.com
