Voter turnout for Colorado’s presidential primary was strong Tuesday in Montezuma County, said county clerk Kim Percell.
“It’s been busy, more than 1,400 ballots were turned in just today,” she said.
Participation for presidential elections typically is high in Montezuma County.
“Statewide, county clerks are reporting good turnout,” Percell said.
By 2 p.m. on Election Day, turnout was over 52% in Montezuma County, which includes the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation.
After polls closed in Montezuma County, nearly 6,000 ballots counted were dropped off at local ballot boxes, Percell said, and 3,254 counted were returned by mail. A total of 16,276 ballots was sent out, and more than 9,990 were returned, representing a voter turnout of 61%.
At 8 p.m., about 1,000 ballots were being processed and counted.
Several Democratic candidates dropped out of the race just before the Colorado primary. Percell said they would not be counted by tabulation machines.
Michael Bennet, Pete Buttigieg, John K. Delaney and Amy Klobuchar officially withdrew as candidates for the Democratic Party. Under Colorado law, any vote cast for candidates who formally withdraw after ballots were printed are invalid and shall not be counted.
“Candidates dropping out of the race just before the primary added a twist to the process,” Percell said.
Ballots were gathered from ballot boxes around the county. When the polls closed at 7 p.m., election officials locked them up, and the last ballots were brought to the clerk’s office.
Five judges processed the ballots. First, signatures were verified, then ballots were separated from their envelopes, shuffled and put through the tabulation machine.
Results were turned into the Colorado Secretary of State Office after polls closed.
There are 19,326 registered voters in Montezuma County. Of the 16,770 active voters, 5,987 are unaffiliated, 7,251 are Republicans and 3.532 are Democrats.
In unofficial results, Montezuma County reported that Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders had received 41.76% of the vote in the Democratic primary; Joseph Biden, 23.86%; and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, 15.87%.
President Donald Trump received 94.97% of the votes in the Republican primary. Bill Weld received 2.07%, and Joe Walsh received 1.44%.
Also in unofficial results, La Plata County reported Sanders had 39.94% of the vote; Joseph Biden, 24.15%, and Warren, 18.71%.
In Dolores County, unofficial results reported Sanders had 41.76% of the vote; Joseph Biden, 22.35%; Warren, 16.4%; and Michael Bloomberg, 13.5%.
Statewide, Sanders received 36.18%; Biden, 23.37%; Bloomberg, 20.7%; and Warren, 17.22%.
