La Plata County voters cast 28,523 ballots Tuesday, setting what is believed to be a record midterm turnout of 62 percent.
There are 45,647 registered voters in the county.
“I’m so proud of La Plata County. The voters were so patient and understanding with the internet interruptions,” said County Clerk and Recorder Tiffany Parker.
Parker said she needs to go back to check all midterms, but she believes 2018 was a record-setter.
County turnout is especially spectacular given that state turnout hit only 50 percent, she said.
“I think it was the number of local races, how active the campaigns were and the push we made to get out the vote,” she said.
Parker said five separate internet interruptions – the longest single interruption was for 20 minutes – meant voters had to wait until a connection could be re-established to confirm they were registered to vote.
Most of the voting process is not dependent on an internet connection, but checking voter registration is, Parker said.
Parker said 54 provisional ballots were issued to voters who could now wait for the internet to come back up. Only one other provisional ballot was issued, to a woman who just moved to the county, and whose residency needs to be confirmed, Parker said.
In addition, 305 ballots are deficient and can be cured. Voters have until Nov. 14 to cure their ballots, which have issues such as a failure to sign the envelope, a signature discrepancy or an inability to present adequate identification.
Parker also said 214 military and overseas ballots remain outstanding, and those ballots also have until Nov. 14 to be counted.
In total, 574 remaining ballots can be added to the final vote count by Nov. 14.
When the final outstanding ballots are counted on Nov. 14, Parker said, she could determine if recounts will be required in the closest races of the night – county treasurer and county commissioner.
La Plata County likely sees record midterm turnout
The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office says more nearly 2.5 million voted in this election. That number surpasses the more than 2.05 million who voted in the last midterm election in 2014.
Nearly 2.9 million Coloradans cast ballots in 2016, a presidential year.
For election results in La Plata County, visit https://durangoherald.com/2018/election-results
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