Early voting centers are open across Denver today and next Monday through Friday. They strike us as the smart alternative to possible long lines and confusion on Election Day.
We can think of three good reasons to vote early:
1. Convenience. Denver and several other counties are changing their voting sites on Election Day, doing away with many neighborhood precincts.
2. Confusion. The debut of new electronic voting machines is sure to be baffling to many voters.
3. Congestion. We’ll have the longest ballot in Colorado history, a fact that is sure to slow down traffic at the polls.
On top of that, we sense that there is less that can go wrong with vote tabulations if votes are cast in relative calm.
In Denver, six sites will be open for early voting from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., with free parking except at the Wellington Webb building downtown.
Arapahoe County will have eight early vote sites, open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Voters in other counties need to check with their county election offices to find out if they’re open today.
A reminder: wherever you vote, and whenever: don’t forget to take a valid Colorado I.D.
County officials in the metro area report that early voters have been pleased so far with the new electronic voting machines. There haven’t been big crowds, so voters haven’t been breathing down each other’s necks in line.
Even so, voters can avoid the machines if they choose. Just pick up an absentee ballot and fill it out on the spot or return it by Nov. 7.
The ballot is long and complex and voters will want to study it ahead of time. In addition to state and local offices, Denver voters will have to decide 16 ballot measures and whether to retain 21 judges.
Officials suggest that voters obtain a sample ballot off the Internet or pick one up at an election office, fill it out ahead of time and take it to the machine when you vote. It will shorten your time and lessen any anxieties.
So far, early voting has been brisk in many counties but sluggish in Denver. As of Thursday night, roughly 1,850 had voted at the Denver centers. Another 15,447 had returned absentee ballots. In Larimer County, nearly 5,800 had voted early and 18,841 had returned absentee ballots. While just 1,981 had voted early in Arapahoe County, 37,243 had returned absentee ballots.
Both political parties have a sharp eye on these turnout figures. Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Ritter will be working Denver today in a get-out-the-vote drive with a rally on the 16th Street Mall at 7 p.m. in front of the Pavilions. Former Gov. Roy Romer will be there along with former Mayor Wellingon Webb, Sen. Ken Salazar and Rep. Diana DeGette.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez will attend a GOP candidate rally in the morning and kick off a precinct walk in Ken Caryl with Rep. Tom Tancredo and state Senate District 22 candidate Mike Kopp. Beauprez also will hand out candy to children on Trick or Treat Street near Highlands Ranch. All his remarks will be urging people to vote, his campaign said.
The Bell Policy Center has launched a $225,000 Vote Early campaign featuring Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper in a TV ad urging voters to the polls. The 30-second ads began running Friday. In addition, the mayor’s office said Hickenlooper has recorded a phone message to Denver voters asking them to vote early.
The last day to vote early is Friday, Nov. 3.
Information on early voting in Denver can be found at www.voteearlydenver.com or by calling 311. Voters who wait until Nov. 7 will have 55 sites around Denver to choose from. That compares to 292 neighborhood polling places in past years, but the new system allows you to pick whatever vote center is most convenient.
With new voting locations, new machines and a long ballot, this may be a year for patience, but we hope it will set state voters on a modern path for a decade of elections to come.
