Election turnout in La Plata County was primed to surpass La Plata County Clerk Tiffany Lee’s predicted turnout by a percentage point or more as of Tuesday afternoon, Lee said.
Lee predicted a total turnout of 40%. Voter turnout just before 3 p.m. was 39%, or 17,400 ballots returned.
Ballots were received from ballot boxes and in-person voters in a steady stream all day Tuesday. Near 3 p.m., 349 residents across the county had voted in person at the La Plata County Clerk and Recorder’s Office or other service centers at Fort Lewis College and the Pine River Library in Bayfield since ballots were mailed out during the second week of October.
Several voters at the Clerk and Recorder’s Office on Tuesday expressed distrust in mail-in ballots, saying they prefer to fill out and submit their ballots in person.
“I don’t like mail-in ballots,” resident Michaela Dasteel said. “We should go back to voting on election day and on paper ballots.”
Resident Shelly Latham said she wanted to vote in person to ensure her vote was counted.
Lee said distrust of elections is not as common in La Plata County these days, but it is still there.
“That’s what the beautiful part about Colorado is, that we have that choice. They have that option. If they choose not to use the mail ballot, they still have the choice to come in,” she said.
She said some people might not understand mail-in ballots and in-person ballots are tabulated identically and treated the same way.
Some people might like the act of voting in person on election day because it feels more patriotic than the mail ballot system. Some people might worry about mailing in ballots because they’re afraid of them not being received in time.
Common concerns Lee hears are who will have access to one’s ballot, how it will be counted and how it is counted, she said.
“There’s just the misunderstanding and the misinformation,” she said.
Cara Bard, 18, said she was voting on Tuesday for the first time. After turning in her ballot, she posed for a photo in front of an “I voted!” sign.
“I procrastinate really unhealthily,” she said as to why she was voting on election day itself.
She said she hasn’t had much time to think about the election with college on her mind. But veterans and veteran care hits close to home for her, and she cares about healthy school means for schoolchildren.
“Making sure that people get food, considering all the SNAP benefits that are getting cut,” she said.
Latham and Dasteel said they were motivated this election cycle by the Durango School District Board of Education race, which pitted three incumbent board members against three challengers.
Latham said she wants a change in leadership on the school board that will bring a renewed focus on education rather than DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion).
“I hope that our kids can get back to educational processes,” she said, adding students are spending class time on current events – which belong outside the classroom – instead of their education and their homework.
She said students are being “groomed” to think in particular ways, and students who aren’t in sports or other groups are easier targets.
Latham did not elaborate as to what students are being groomed about. But Dasteel said there is a “social contagion” or a “trend” of students identifying with the LGBT community.
She called LGBT a “fad,” said she is particularly concerned about students identifying as transgender, and that the current school board supports it. But, she said, she does like that the current school board is supporting students who aren’t planning to go to college develop skills for the workforce.
“That’s really good what the school board is doing here,” she said.
When Durango School District was targeted by a law firm with complaints about its equity and inclusion efforts earlier this year, Karla Sluis, district spokeswoman, said the district is committed to “creating a safe, inclusive, and respectful learning environment for every student.
“Our policies and programs are designed to follow all state and federal laws, including civil rights protections, while also upholding our values of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging,” Sluis said.
cburney@durangoherald.com
