Amber McReynolds, Denver’s director of elections, speaks about National Voter Registration Day Tuesday in Civic Center’s Greek Amphitheater. (Jon Murray, The Denver Post)
A bipartisan group of city and state elected officials on Tuesday exhorted eligible voters to register and make sure they vote in the Nov. 3 election.
The openers for a voter registration rally were preschool children from Montessori Academy of Colorado. They sang songs including “You’re a Grand Old Flag.” (Jon Murray, The Denver Post)
…But turn around, and the crowd was sparse at noontime Tuesday. (Jon Murray, The Denver Post)
Perhaps reflecting the ho-hum nature of this year’s off-year election in most corners, their rally in Civic Center on Tuesday — National Voter Registration Day — drew few actual voters, save for government staff members and politicos. Not far away, larger crowds queued up for food trucks as part of Civic Center Eats, where the clerk’s staff offered registration on tablets.
“Sometimes it is easy to believe that there are no more obstacles to the polling place, but I’m here to tell you that 50 years after the Voting Rights Act was signed, there are still battles to be fought,” said Denver Clerk and Recorder Debra Johnson, turning to the politics of voting laws.
She cited her office’s lobbying in favor of expanded voting access in Colorado in recent years, including preregistration for 16-year-olds and online registration, and said voters should follow through by returning their mail ballots.
On the ballot this year are school board races in many districts, some city government elections (outside Denver) and , including a Denver-Adams County airport development agreement and tax extensions for the National Western Center.
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock recalled , saying it spurred action to change how Denver selects its county clerk and procedural changes statewide. “Today it’s much easier to register, and it’s much easier to vote, in Denver and throughout Colorado,” he said.
Colorado Secretary of State, a Republican who joined the two Democratic city officials, said prospective voters shouldn’t wait to register, to ensure they receive their ballots at home in time to cast their ballots easily.
He recalled two school board races that were decided “by a single vote” in El Paso County when he was clerk. “Your vote does matter, and it’s important to be involved,” he said, to a smattering of claps.
