The La Plata County Clerk and Recorder fired up its processing machine Tuesday, and as of 4 p.m., it had tallied more than 1,300 ballots in Colorado’s first presidential primary in 20 years.
Ann Hutchins, election administrator with the county clerk and recorder, said she expected the number of ballots to more than double by the end of the day, as more ballots had been received in the mail but were waiting to be run through processing machines.
As of 4 p.m. Tuesday, 655 Republicans, 355 Democrats and 381 unaffiliated voters had returned their ballots.
Two candidates, U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., and John K. Delaney, a Maryland businessman and politician, have formally withdrawn from the Democratic race with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office. Any votes for either of them will not be recorded, said La Plata County Clerk and Recorder Tiffany Parker.
However, other Democratic candidates who have withdrawn from the race or suspended their campaigns but have not formally withdrawn with the Secretary of State’s Office in Denver will have their votes counted. Those candidates include Marianne Williamson, Deval Patrick and Andrew Yang.
The election deadline is 7 p.m. March 3, and Hutchins said postmarks do not count. The presidential primary is being conducted through a mail-in ballot.
Hutchins said the last day the clerk and recorder recommends mailing a ballot is Feb. 24, after which voters should drop off their ballots at one of five mail ballot drop-off locations:
The Clerk and Recorder’s Office, 679 Turner Drive, Durango.Bayfield Town Hall, 1199 Bayfield Parkway, Bayfield.La Plata County Administration Building, 1101 East Second Ave., Durango.Farmers Fresh Market, 535 Goddard Ave., Ignacio.Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College, 1000 Rim Drive, Durango.
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The Clerk and Recorder’s Office, 679 Turner Drive, Durango.Bayfield Town Hall, 1199 Bayfield Parkway, Bayfield.La Plata County Administration Building, 1101 East Second Ave., Durango.Farmers Fresh Market, 535 Goddard Ave., Ignacio.Community Concert Hall at Fort Lewis College, 1000 Rim Drive, Durango.
