Election Day has come and gone, and The Durango Herald editorial board would like to offer its thanks for a smooth election to Tiffany Lee, La Plata County clerk and recorder, and her able staff and team of bipartisan election judges who have been working tirelessly for months on processes and procedures for the general election.
Their hard work paid off as La Plata County’s election process shined with accuracy, camaraderie, civility and safety. Lee set the tone having given up her party affiliation, changing from R to U, in August 2020.
No surprise. Lee, having served as our local clerk and recorder since 2010, and in a variety of capacities in a county clerk’s office in Oregon before coming to La Plata County, is a pro. This year marked her 28th year delivering on a difficult job.
She predicted the election turnout would be high and at 81% (33,800 voting of 44,221 active voters), that not yet official tally was the highest turnout the county has ever seen. Lee spoke about the people in line at the voting centers being patient and kind, many of them adults voting for the first time.
Largely because of the length of the ballot, the stream was steady from 6:30 a.m., when teens from the Boys & Girls Club of La Plata County recited the Pledge of Allegiance and presented Lee with the state capital made of Legos and gave all the judges Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory chocolates for their hard work, to 7 p.m. when the polls closed. The clerk’s office has worked with the club on civics and election education for years.
New for the clerk’s office this year was a lot of time spent on security that required Lee to delegate to her staff while she worked with Homeland Security, law enforcement and an emergency management team. She credits her team for how organized it was and relieved it didn’t have to do some of the things they had discussed. Humble as she is, it is likely also Lee’s competence and the training she’s provided staff members, who helped with the smooth operation.
Lee expressed gratitude to city of Durango police officers she hired for full-time security and undercover police in the parking lots. She also was grateful that Sheriff Sean Smith was in uniform a good part of the day and walked Lee and her staff members to their cars at night.
Another new safety procedure involved using county instead of judges’ personal vehicles and a county driver when transferring ballots from drop boxes back to the clerk’s office. The driver watched the entire process as Democrat and Republican election judges emptied the box and brought the ballots to the vehicle.
With tales of the Republican county clerk in Weld County having received eight death threats, Lee felt the utmost precaution was in order. Homeland Security staff members encouraged her to rent a car leading up to and during the election. She declined.
The ballot issue of greatest interest to county clerks statewide was Amendment K. La Plata County supported it 50.2% to 49.8% and it lost statewide 44.8% to 58.2%. Amendment K would have given clerks an additional week to certify ballots ensuring their accuracy, to test ballots and get them ready to go to military and overseas voters. It also would have given judges an extra week to file a declaration of intent to seek another term.
Lee said that because of how long and complex ballots are becoming it’s really challenging, especially with 33 different ballot styles this election in La Plata County reflecting voter eligibility by precinct. More than one Colorado county this year had more than a front and back, 1-card ballot. With 30-plus items on La Plata County’s ballot this year, Lee was relieved it all fit on one card.
Voters ultimately sided with the measure’s opponents, initiative petitioners. Believing the extra time for election staff and judges was warranted, and the six months petitioners have to collect signatures to place an initiative on the ballot sufficient, the Herald’s editorial board supported this measure. Lee said she and her staff members will make do, as they always have.
Congratulations, Tiffany. Thanks for your tireless efforts and to law enforcement and EMS teams who supported all the people who worked this election season. Lee and her team shined and our county is the better for it.
