The influx of residents voting close to when the polls closed was just one reason why the final election results were not tabulated until after 1 a.m. on Wednesday.
The late results also affected the Montezuma County Clerks office plan to list the final results immediately after they were known; instead the results were not posted on the county website until after 10 a.m.
County Clerk Carol Tullis said the late hour of when the results were finalized resulted in the informational technology staff not having time to post the final numbers on its website.
She said her office and staff had to wait for all the precincts and all the dropoffs that occurred shortly before the polls closed.
We had to process all of that, she said. We were busy with voters all day long.
Most candidates, and supporters and opponents of school bond issues did not know the results of the election until mid-morning on Wednesday.
A number of candidates and supporters gathered outside the clerks office after 10 p.m. but dispersed when they were informed results wouldnt be available for at least two more hours.
One commissioner candidate checked the Journals website and another visited the clerks office, while Montezuma-Cortez School District Superintendent Alex Carter decided to call it a night at about 2 a.m. when he couldnt find the final results anywhere.
But Tullis said it was not just Montezuma County with election night difficulties, saying that Montrose County results were not released until 12:30 a.m.
She said that other counties have more staff to help with the process than she does.
Its just the way things happened. We did the best we could, and we got it done, she said Wednesday morning.
The number of Montezuma County voters who cast ballots in the election was impressive, as 12,392 exercised their right to vote.
Tullis said she did not know the actual voter turnout percentage yet, but thinks the percentage will turn out to be a high number.
It was a great turnout, and I was highly encouraged, she said.