{"id":25009,"date":"2024-11-05T20:19:54","date_gmt":"2024-11-06T03:19:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-county-votes-in-politically-charged-environment\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T23:07:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T05:07:50","slug":"montezuma-county-votes-in-politically-charged-environment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/montezuma-county-votes-in-politically-charged-environment\/","title":{"rendered":"Montezuma County votes in politically charged environment"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Political
Political signs on Mildred Road in Cortez near Southwest Memorial Hospital. (Cameryn Cass\/The Journal)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n

Though many took advantage of early voting opportunities, a great deal of people waited till Election Day to cast their votes.<\/p>\n

In fact, thousands cast their ballot in Montezuma County on Nov. 5, and were still voting near 7 p.m., said Election Deputy Diana Smith.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no way we\u2019re finishing tonight,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n

Eight judges were helping tabulate results. They will release the first round of results around 7:30 p.m., a second round before 9 p.m. and the final round for today around midnight.<\/p>\n

To keep voters safe in a charged political climate, Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin stationed a deputy at the Montezuma County Clerk\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at how much divisiveness there is. That\u2019s why I have a deputy here,\u201d Nowlin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will be here into the latter part of November, depending on what happens, so long as it doesn\u2019t get crazy,\u201d Nowlin said.<\/p>\n

In this election, there\u2019s a lot at stake in objectively controversial conversations: Things like immigration policy, the second amendment, LGBTQ+ rights, abortion. There\u2019s much \u201cdivisiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n

Yet, when it comes down to it, \u201cWe all want very similar things,\u201d said Dolores Mayor Chris Holkestad.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe vote for the people and initiatives that we believe in. The things that resonate with us and get us closer to the America we want,\u201d said Holkestad. \u201cThe presidential elections get all the attention, but the local ballot issues are also vitally important.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ballot this year was 17 inches long.<\/p>\n

Locally, people voted on a number of things: A sales tax to bolster the Sheriff\u2019s Office budget, another such tax to help fund the Cortez Fire Protection District as their call numbers rise. The Montezuma-Cortez School District RE-1 asked for a greater mill levy to give teacher\u2019s a raise.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of our institutions and organizations are struggling to meet the demand of expenses and services so they\u2019re asking for tax increases or new taxes,\u201d said Cortez Mayor Rachel Medina.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s important for voters to get out and let their voices be heard and help the future of these organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n

As of Nov. 4, the day prior to Election Day, 2,092,035 Coloradans had cast their vote.<\/p>\n

Of that, 11,932 were from Montezuma County.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s 59% of the 20,253 registered voters in the county, though that number can change by the hour, said Montezuma County Clerk & Recorder Kim Percell.<\/p>\n

In another light, on Election Day, 8,321 eligible voters in the county had yet to vote.<\/p>\n

Though total turnout wouldn\u2019t be known be known until Tuesday evening, Percell gave a preview of the day\u2019s activity.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a lot of interest (in voting) this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

To ensure votes were counted properly, there was Logic & Accuracy testing at the Montezuma County Clerk & Recorder\u2019s Office back in early October.<\/p>\n

The test was to make sure machines tabulated the votes properly, a concern some voters have. The machines, however, have never been incorrect, Percell said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd nine times out of 10, when we do the logic and accuracy testing, the part that holds us up and the part we have the most difficulty with is the hand tally,\u201d Percell said at the testing back in October.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to say how many ballots were sent out because some were replacement ballots sent to Precinct D after the Montezuma-Cortez School District ballot issue failed to appear on those ballots, Percell said. That district runs on both sides of U.S. Highway 160\/491 south of Cortez.<\/p>\n

\"Political
Political signs promoting Democratic candidates are shown Tuesday east of Cortez along U.S. Highway 160. (The Journal)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

To count, \u201cmail ballots must be \u2026 in the hands of the Montezuma County Clerk and Recorder no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day,\u201d according to the Montezuma County website. <\/a><\/p>\n

In-person vote centers are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 5.<\/p>\n

Percell said the presidential elections always have the best turnout.<\/p>\n

In the 2020 presidential election, 15,631 ballots were returned in Montezuma County, up from 13,189 ballots in 2016.<\/p>\n

In fact, nationwide, roughly \u201ctwo-thirds of the voting-eligible population turned out for the 2020 presidential election \u2013 the highest rate for any national election since 1900,\u201d according to the PEW Research Center<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Turnout for this year\u2019s election is expected to reach record numbers, which is great because voting is fundamental to democracy, whether it be for local, state or national elections.<\/p>\n

\u201cVoting is vital,\u201d said Mancos Mayor Cindy Simpson. \u201cIt\u2019s a privilege and a right. What many people forget is that with every right there is an equal or greater responsibility.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cVoting is our voice, our chance to be heard,\u201d Simpson said.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s something every eligible, authorized U.S. citizen ought to do, Nowlin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re entrusted with a democratic process in voting and to be able to have a voice. It\u2019s important for each individual to cast their own ballot,\u201d said Mancos Town Marshal Justen Goodall.<\/p>\n

The county must send its first report to the state no later than 8 p.m., so preliminary, unofficial results will be available soon after, Percell said.<\/p>\n

\u201cVoting is how we can influence and be part of our own future,\u201d Medina said.<\/p>\n

So thank you to those who voted, \u201cbecause it is a very elegant feeling to wake up in the morning and go down to your neighborhood polling place and come away feeling proud of the way you voted,\u201d the infamous political reporter Hunter S. Thompson once wrote.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

stationed at Clerk\u2019s Office; mayors of Cortez, Dolores and Mancos comment on the election <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25010,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[266,28,29],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-25009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-election","tag-headlines","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25009"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78768,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25009\/revisions\/78768"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25010"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25009"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=25009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}