While the Nov. 6 election is about six weeks away most voters will have cast their ballots well before then.
Montezuma County will be sending out mail-in ballots to voters who request them on Oct. 15, said County Clerk Carol Tullis.
Of the 12,000 active voters in the county, 6,369 or 53 percent are classified as permanent mail-in ballot voters, meaning they will always receive a ballot by mail from the county.
If they request a mail-in ballot they will get one, Tullis said.
Tullis said there are another 6,900 inactive voters who did not vote or had their ballots returned for some reason in the last election, and therefore had their status changed.
To change their status back to active, all they have to do is vote on Nov. 6 or come into the clerks office to change their personal information if anything had changed such as a move to another residence, Tullis said.
Chances are they moved out of the area, moved without changing their address or simply decided not to vote, she said.
Early poll-place voting will also take place from Oct. 22 to Nov., 2 at the county annex building for those not wanting to vote on election day or by mail. Tullis said 3,000 to 4,000 people in the county may take advantage of voting early.
Tullis said there are 25 to 30 military and absentee ballots, and those ballots will be mailed out before Oct. 15 but can be returned after the election date because of where the ballots were sent.
Tullis also said a presidential election year does not necessarily mean more people will vote, as the number of people is usually based on local and contested races.
This year there are few races, questions and amendments that will be on the ballot for Montezuma County.
Tullis also said there is still time for people to register to be able to vote in this election with the cutoff date being Oct. 9.
All of the early votes will be tabulated but the card needed to receive the numbers will not be entered until after the polls are closed on election day, she said.
The only local contested race is for the District 3 County Commissioner seat in which Republican nominee Dewayne Findley will be opposed by unaffiliated candidates Larry Don Suckla and Greg Kemp.
Keenen Ertel secured the Republican nomination for the District 2 commissioner seat and will run unopposed, as will Will Furse, the district attorney Republican nominee for the 22nd Judicial District. Former write-in candidate Andy Hughes withdrew his candidacy.
Voters will also be casting ballots on the 3B bond that would generate more than $20 million over 20 years to match the grant the Montezuma-Cortez School District received from the Building Excellent Schools Today program to build a new high school.
Voters will also be choosing two statewide races.
In the 3rd Congressional District, incumbent Republican and Cortez native Scott Tipton will be opposed by Democrat Sal Pace and unaffiliated candidate Tisha Casida.
In the Colorado House of Representatives District 58 race incumbent Republican Don Coram is being opposed by Montrose Democrat Tammy Theis.
michaelm@cortezjournal.com