Unaffiliated voter situation improves in Pueblo County
Election officials are reluctant to accept any amount of disqualified election ballots, no matter how few, but the percentage in Pueblo County for next Tuesday’s primary election turns out to be six times less than feared.
Gilbert Ortiz, the county clerk and recorder, said Thursday that the percentage of disqualified mail-in ballots so far is just 3 percent, far less than the 18 percent first reported.
“We couldn’t find a report that just told us, you know, spit out the number for us,” he said. “But then we got hold of the Secretary of State’s Office and they told us there was a custom extract out there that we could request. So we downloaded it and it gave us the right number.”
By comparison, the percentage of disqualified ballots in El Paso County is 7 percent.
Ortiz blames the situation on this being the first primary election in which voters with no party affiliation are allowed to vote. Those voters received both Democratic and Republican ballots and were instructed to fill out one party.
But many voters filled out both parties and sent those ballots in, thus disqualifying them from the election.
“It’s a new situation for voters and election workers,” Ortiz said. “We’re all learning from it and getting used to it.”
The 3 percent of disqualified ballots represents around 80 voters.
Ortiz said it’s too late for those voters to cast new ballots and be counted in the primary.
“We don’t have the time or the resources to do that,” he said. “Thankfully, the percentage is very low and we hope it stays that way.”
Ortiz said because many voters wait until the final two days to drop off their ballots, he will place workers at as many ballot boxes as possible, in hopes of catching voters with improper ballots.
“What we’re asking is that if you’re an unaffiliated voter, filled out both ballots and haven’t sent them in yet, contact us immediately,” he said. “We can take your ballot, give you a new one and make sure your vote is counted.”
Several voters who spoke with KRDO NewsChannel 13 were divided on whether the instructions included in the ballot were clear enough to avoid confusion.
