While Election Day for the State Primary is June 28, mail ballots are already on their way to Jeffco voters. That means there’s no need to wait until the last minute to cast your vote! And since this is the first primary in two years, and there may be questions about this election, here is everything you need to know to participate in the primary as soon as your ballot packet arrives.

When to vote: Key dates

June 6: We opened all 24-hour drop boxes, and mailed ballots to all active Democratic, Republican, and unaffiliated registered voters.  

June 13: If you have not yet received a ballot, call our Elections office at 303-271-8111.

June 20: This is the last day to return your ballot by mail to ensure it arrives in time, and the first day in-person vote centers are open.

June 28: Election Day. You can use any drop box up until 7 p.m., or if you need additional services (same day registration, replacement ballot, etc.), you can use any vote center up until 7 p.m. as well. 

Where to vote: Drop box and vote center locations

As always, we recommend returning your ballot to any of our 24-hour drop boxes. The boxes are secure, accessible, and available until 7 p.m. on Election Day. Check the location sheet in your ballot mailing packet or visit VoteJeffco.com to find your nearest drop box — many of them do not even require you to get out of your car. The location sheet and our website also have a list of in-person vote center locations in case you need additional services. If you prefer to return your ballot by mail, we recommend doing so no later than June 20, and affixing one Forever stamp to your envelope.

Who can vote: Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated voters

If you are registered as an unaffiliated voter, you can vote in either party’s primary – but you may only vote in one of the two primaries. Registered Democrats will receive a Democratic Party ballot in the mail. Registered Republicans will receive a Republican Party ballot in the mail. Unaffiliated voters will receive both ballots, but they may only vote and return one of the two. If you return two voted ballots to us, neither will be counted.
 

Protecting the vote: Election security

As always, we take election security extremely seriously. And thanks to the Colorado election model, security experts on both ends of the political spectrum have called our state one of the safest in which to cast a ballot.

First, voting by mail means there is a paper trial. We send you a paper ballot, you return that paper ballot to us, and we store that paper ballot for two years after the election so it can be audited or recounted at any time. Indeed, we conduct a bipartisan audit after every election, and have been doing so for five years. Next, our election judges verify the signature on every ballot envelope against a signature we have on file for a registered voter who has proven their identity. That’s why it’s so important that you sign your envelope before returning it to us.

Additionally, every step of the process – from verifying those signatures to picking up ballots from drop boxes – is conducted by teams of bipartisan election judges who have undergone FBI background checks. Finally, all of our drop boxes and ballot processing are on 24-7 video surveillance, and the ballot processing is open to election watchers of both political parties at all times.

If you still have questions, or simply want to see this process in action, I invite you to tune in to a virtual tour of our facility via Facebook Live (you do not need a Facebook account to watch) on June 27. I am happy to answer any questions you have during the tour.
 

After you vote: Ballot tracking and results

For additional peace of mind, we encourage all Jeffco voters to sign up for ballot tracking alerts. Through a program called BallotTrax, you can receive notifications by phone, text, or email when your ballot is on its way to you (most voters have already received those), as well as when we have received your ballot back and processed it for counting. Visit VoteJeffco.com to sign up. At that same site, you will also be able to access election results after 7 p.m. on Election Day.

If you have any additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact my office. How ever you plan to vote this election, and whoever you plan to vote for, we just hope you’ll do it! Jeffco has a long history of setting record turnouts in the state, and we want to keep that up this year.

George Stern is the Jefferson County clerk and recorder. He lives in Golden where he also serves as a volunteer firefighter.