What happens at precinct caucus?
• In each even-numbered year, political parties hold their Precinct Caucus on the first Tuesday in March to begin the process of selecting candidates to designate in the up-coming election.
• Registered voters of the same political party gather at their respective precinct location to select delegates to represent their precinct at the County Assembly and committee persons to organize political activities for the precinct.
• Precinct caucuses are open to the public and held throughout the state.
Who can vote in a precinct caucus?
• A resident of the precinct for 30 days.
• A resident affiliated with the caucusing political party for at least two months before the precinct caucuses. January 8 was the last day to affiliate with the Republican or Democrat Party in order to vote in the March 6 political party precinct caucus.
• February 5 is the last day to update your voter registration address to participate in the March 6 party precinct caucus.
What about unaffiliated voters?
• Unaffiliated voters or voters from other counties may observe a precinct caucus, but may not participate.
• For the first time in Colorado, unaffiliated voters will be eligible to cast a Primary Election ballot for candidates of a political party. This is because Colorado voters approved Proposition 108 in 2016. Unless an unaffiliated voter designates a ballot preference, they will receive both the Democrat and Republican Primary ballots for the June Primary, and may vote and return only one. If a voter returns both ballots voted, neither will be counted.
• As an alternative, unaffiliated voters may declare a "ballot preference" before the June 26 Primary Election at www.govotecolorado.com and receive only one ballot for their preferred party. Doing this would conserve taxpayer dollars, because otherwise counties will pay printing and postage costs to send two ballots.
If you are interested in serving as an election judge, you may attend your respective political party's caucus and add your name to the election judges list.
If you have a question about your registration status, please contact the Montrose County Clerk and Recorder's Office at 249-3362 ext. 3 or you can update your information online at www.govotecolorado.com.
County Offices will be closed on Monday, Jan. 15, in observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
Tressa Guynes
County Clerk & Recorder