Voters in La Plata County cast ballots at a consistent rate throughout the day on Super Tuesday to weigh in on Colorado’s presidential primary election.

The state was one of 15 in the country, as well as one U.S. Territory, to hold a primary Tuesday.

In La Plata County, a majority of voters are unaffiliated and had the option to weigh in on either the Democratic or Republican race.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 36% of active voters had returned a ballot, said County Clerk and Recorder Tiffany Lee. Her office sent out 41,375 ballots this year.

She said the process was running smoothly and that her staff was caught up on tabulating the incoming ballots as of Tuesday afternoon.

Across the state, 1.16 million ballots had been returned as of 1:30 p.m., meaning just over 30% of eligible voters had cast a vote.

As of Tuesday afternoon, 47% of unaffiliated voters returned a Republican ballot statewide; 21% returned a Democratic ballot and the rest were still being processed. A breakdown of which race La Plata County unaffiliated voters participated in was not available Tuesday.

In many ways, Tuesday’s primary was a ritualistic practice in anticipation of a November contest between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump that is growing more certain by the day. Despite a legal victory Monday that qualified him to appear on the primary ballot, the embattled former president still faces a volley of state and federal charges that could hinder his success.

Although Biden, 81, is the only serious contender in the Democratic race, polls show that many voters have serious concerns about his age. Although Biden is only four years older than his likely opponent (Trump is 77), fewer voters share the concern about the former president.

“Biden is an incredibly thoughtful, well-spoken, well-thought man who has had a speech impediment his whole life, and it’s showing up physically,” said Anne Markward, chair of the La Plata County Democrats. “But everyone who speaks to him says that he has acuity for the job, and he has the team for the job.”

Robin Dean, a Durango Democrat, said Biden’s age is a concern. But he said, echoing the endorsement of billionaire Mark Cuban, that he would vote for Biden over Trump even if the president were taking his last breaths.

To add to the uncertainty, Trump could have felony trials underway by the November general election, as charges stemming from his alleged hush-money payments, unauthorized retention of classified documents and attempts to overturn the 2020 election proceed. The impact any convictions might have on his electoral success remains unclear.

Leaders of the La Plata County Republican Central Committee did not respond to a request for comment. The party endorsed the former president last month.

Some voters chose to vote for a “noncommitted delegate” on the Democratic ballot instead of Biden. Nick Sperger, who is unaffiliated, was one such voter. He said he hoped to send a message to the Democrats.

“They’re trending in the wrong direction with their intention in the November election,” Sperger said. “I think Biden has ruined his position by continuing to enable the Palestinian genocide. I know he’s done a fair amount of good in office, but also has done plenty of continuation of Trump’s policies that he claimed he was going to go back on.”

Conversely, other unaffiliated voters participated in the Republican primary as a counter measure to try and hobble Trump’s march toward nomination.

“I want to keep someone else off the ballot,” said Scott Flory, who cast a vote for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley. “I’d much rather have her as a Republican candidate than Trump as a Republican candidate – much rather.”

Still for some voters, casting a ballot was more about fulfilling a duty than making change in the primary.

“If you don’t vote, you can’t complain,” said David Stiller as he dropped a ballot off in downtown Durango.

Primary elections for state and local office, including county commissioner and district attorney races, will be held June 25 and ballots will be sent out the week of June 3.

rschafir@durangoherald.com