by Pam Anderson, Clerk & Recorder
comments open from October 14 until November 2

Jefferson County voters who would like to return their voted ballots in the mail will only need one first-class (44 cent) postage stamp.

“Voters have a lot of choices to make this year, but fortunately the ballots aren’t as long as they were two years ago,” said Pam Anderson, Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder. “Extra pages require extra postage,” Anderson added.

Voters who would prefer to drop their ballots off in person may do so at any of the 11 designated drop-off sites throughout Jefferson County. Those locations include:
>> Arvada Motor Vehicle: 6510 Wadsworth Blvd, Ste. 320; Arvada, CO 80003
>> Evergreen Motor Vehicle: 4990 County Hwy 73; Evergreen, CO 80439
>> Lakewood Motor Vehicle: 2099 Wadsworth Blvd.; Lakewood, CO 80215
>> South Jeffco Motor Vehicle: 6004 S. Kipling St. Unit A; Littleton, CO 80127
>> Jefferson County Elections: 100 Jefferson County Parkway; Golden, CO 80419
>> Arvada City Hall: 8101 Ralston Rd.; Arvada, CO 80002
>> Edgewater City Hall: 2401 Sheridan Blvd.; Edgewater, CO 80214
>> Golden City Hall: 911 10th St.; Golden, CO 80401
>> Lakewood City Hall: 480 S. Allison Pkwy; Lakewood, CO 80026
>> Wheat Ridge City Hall: 7500 W. 29th Ave.; Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
>> Westminster City Hall: 4800 W. 92nd Ave.; Westminster, CO 80031

Hours for drop-off locations:
>> County ballot drop-off locations are open Monday through Friday from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
>> City Hall ballot drop-off locations are open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., except for Westminster City Hall, which is open Monday through Thursday from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
>> All ballot drop-off locations are open on Election Day, November 2, from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The deadline to drop-off voted ballots is 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. Ballots sent through the mail must be received by the Clerk and Recorder’s office by the deadline. A postmark does not count as receipt.

Please visit www.votejeffco.com for more information.

by Pam Anderson, Clerk & Recorder
comments open from October 11 until October 30

Almost 220,000 registered Jeffco voters will receive their mail-in election ballots in the next several days, according to Jefferson County Clerk & Recorder Pam Anderson. Ballots are being delivered to the United States Postal Service this week for Jefferson County voters and should begin arriving in voters’ mailboxes tomorrow.

“We continue to see a high demand from voters who want to have a paper ballot delivered to them by mail,” said Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder Pam Anderson. “It has been our goal to get those ballots to them as soon as possible, so we are pleased that we were able to drop off the bulk of our mail-in ballots this week,” she added.

In what has become a growing trend statewide, an increasing number of voters are signing up as Permanent Mail-In Voters (PMIV). Jefferson County has the highest population of Permanent Mail-In Voters in the state, with 74 percent of active Jeffco voters opting to have their ballots mailed to them. Statewide, 60 percent of Colorado voters have signed up for PMIV status. That number continues to increase.

“Most of the new voter registrations we’ve received this year are also being used by people to sign up to be Permanent Mail-In Voters,” said Anderson. “Voters are realizing that voting by mail is a secure and convenient way to have their voices heard in an election so the popularity of this option continues to grow.”

Voters can apply for a mail-in ballot to be delivered to their home until October 26.

To make it easy to prepare for your voting experience, go to www.votejeffco.com where you can access:
>> Voter registration information
>> Sample ballots, candidate web pages and Blue Book information
>> Polling place, ballot drop off and early voting locations
>> Mail ballot tracking information

For more information about obtaining a mail-in ballot, or tracking the status of your mail-in ballot, please visit www.votejeffco.com.

by Pam Anderson, Clerk & Recorder
comments open from February 23 until March 14

In a public hearing today, the Board of County Commissioners adopted a resolution presented by the Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder to conduct the August 10, 2010, Primary Election as a mail ballot election. Although Jefferson County has conducted all mail ballot elections in every odd-numbered year since 1993, this marks the first time the county will conduct an even-year election by mail ballot.

Legislation passed by the Colorado General Assembly in 2009 allowed for this move, which will save Jefferson County between 40-50 percent of the cost of conducting a polling place election in August. The change also closely reflects voter preference in Jefferson County over the past several years.

“Ninety-four percent of the people who voted in the 2008 Primary Election chose to cast their ballot by mail, even when polling places were available,” said Clerk and Recorder Pam Anderson. “Based on that information, the potential cost savings to the county’s taxpayers and the public comments we’ve received over the last few weeks, we are very pleased to be able to use this model for our Primary Election.”

Between January 29 and February 12, the County Clerk & Recorder received public comment on whether to conduct the Primary Election by mail ballot. Ninety-six percent of public feedback submitted to the Clerk and Recorder’s Office was in support of this election model.

“It was important to hear from Jeffco citizens before making this decision,” said Anderson. “We also met with the county chairs of both major parties as well as representatives from the League of Women Voters, and all responded positively,” she added.

Mail Ballot Elections provide a convenient means for voters to participate in elections and has increased voter participation in elections. Seventy percent of active registered voters in Jefferson County have already declared a preference to permanently vote by mail ballot.

Ballots for the Primary Election will be mailed to voters beginning the week of July 19 in advance of the August 10 Primary.

Please visit www.votejeffco.com for more information.