I recognize many of you may have campaign fatigue. You’re tired of the candidates, tired of the rhetoric and tired of the commercials.
You just want Election Day to be over already. Well, in Colorado, you can make Election Day arrive when you return your ballot.
This is the first presidential election where all Coloradans receive their ballots by mail. And when you return your ballot — which you should have received by now — our state-of-the-art systems mark your vote as received. Your name is removed from lists that the major parties use to continue to campaign for your vote.
So, the sooner you send in your ballot, the sooner the robo-calls and mailings stop.
While so many people’s attention is focused only on the presidential election, please know that your day-to-day life is more likely to be affected by local races and ballot initiatives than the commander in chief.
I’m asking you to pay close attention to the statewide and local races as well as the 15 ballot questions. Thatap right, 15 ballot questions and 24 races. That makes for a ballot that is four pages long — Denver’s longest ballot since 2008 — and could lead to ballot fatigue.
So, as you make important decisions for Denver and for Colorado, following are several strategies you should use.
Make a plan. Look over the ballot and see which races and questions you’ve heard about and which ones you’ll need to research. Take a look at your schedule for the next week and decide how much time you can dedicate to your ballot. Block time on your schedule to research and complete your ballot.
Take your time. Because Colorado is a mail ballot state, you don’t have to drive to the polls, find parking, stand in line, and make all your selections at one time. You can work on your ballot in chunks, if necessary. The ballot ends with the local questions. If you start there, you’ll be starting with the issues that will most affect your daily life.
Get the easy questions out of the way first. If you’ve already made up your mind on some of the races or ballot initiatives, go ahead and mark your choices on those. You can do this anytime, anywhere — while waiting to pick up your kid from school or on the light rail heading to work.
Use your resources. By now you should have received your Notice of Election, the State Ballot Information Booklet (Blue Book) and your ballot. The first two are filled with information about your ballot and the ballot questions. Several news outlets, the two major political parties and numerous advocacy groups have online resources available as well. If you’re not familiar with the ballot questions, take the time to research both sides before choosing.
Return your ballot. The easiest, and cheapest, way to return your ballot is to drop it in a 24-hour ballot box or through a drive-up drop-off location. You can find the one closest to you at . If you mail back your ballot, remember that you’ll need 68 cents in postage. Many voter service and polling centers opened on Monday. You can find their locations at DenverVotes.org as well.
If you haven’t registered to vote and still want your ballot by mail, you have until Halloween to register. But, because of our systems, you can register to vote up to, and on, Election Day in person at any voter service and polling center.
Denver voters can track the status of their ballot with Ballot TRACE, which you can sign up for at DenverVotes.org.
Remember, the sooner you return your ballot, the sooner the calls stop. And the sooner we’ll know results on election night.
Debra Johnson is Denver’s clerk and recorder.
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