You asked, we got answers. Here’s what to do if your voting return envelope came sealed

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Voters in Colorado Springs brought concerns to KRDO13 after they discovered their ballots for the June 17 special election had a sealed return envelope, and were worried how they should hand it in, and whether it would impact their vote getting counted. The city clerk says they are aware of the issue, but claim it's a small one amongst the 330,000 ballots they mailed out.

Carmel Woods and her husband opened their ballots on Monday morning and found that the return envelopes were mostly sealed.

They say they were confused on whether they should open them up, and worried that if they appeared ripped open, and then taped shut, they would look tampered with. They reached out to KRDO13 Investigates, and we brought those concerns to the City of Colorado Springs at a press conference on Monday afternoon.

The City Clerk Sarah Johnson says after they first learned about the envelope malfunctions, they put information in their FAQ page for their election website. Ballots were first sent out on May 23, last month.

She adds that they're still looking into what exactly caused some of the ballots to be this way. Johnson says they've been in contact with their vendor to determine the reason, and loosely believes it could have been the rainy and severely humid weather we've had the last two weeks, but wouldn't say for sure.

Johnson says that if you're a voter with a sealed return envelope, you can do one of a few things to ensure your ballot is still counted:

• Open the envelope, place your ballot inside, and tape the envelope closed. You must also sign and date the back of the envelope, as you usually would.
• Use a regular postage envelope, and place your ballot in there. You should write your name and address on the front of the envelope, and then sign and date the back of the envelope as well.
• You can also call or visit the clerk's office in person to get a new ballot altogether before the 7 p.m. deadline on Tuesday, June 17th.

The special election is being held to decide the fate of the Karman Line annexation, something that Woods and her husband described as an incredibly important topic for city residents.

READ MORE on what the Karman Line Annexation is here.

So far city clerk's office is reporting just under 60,200 ballots cast as of Monday morning, with a voter turnout of 17.95%.

However, they say that figure is about 10,000 ballots ahead of the number of ballots that were returned in the same time period prior to the April 1st city council election, earlier this year.

That election saw a little over 78,000 votes cast, at a 23.57% voter turnout.

Ballots are due by 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 17th, at any official Ballot Box within the City of Colorado Springs. You cannot mail your ballot in.

This election is the first special election for an annexation in the North Gate area since 1986, according to officials.

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