New election rules have left some voters, especially those who are “unaffiliated” with the Democratic or Republican Parties, confused about how to cast a ballot in Colorado’s current primary election.
Much of this year’s voter confusion may fall on young people, because about 47 percent of voters ages 18-40 are unaffiliated with a political party, which means, under the new rules, they’ve received two ballots in the mail (one for Democrats and one for Republicans).
They must fill out only one of them. If unaffiliated voters return both ballots, their votes will not be counted.
To help educate voters about the process, New Era Colorado, which, among other things, helps young people get involved in politics, has launched a website called, “VoteintheCOPrimary.com.”
The site takes visitors through the voting process using simple graphics and minimal text. It provides information on what to do if you’re an unaffiliated voter and you’ve received two ballots (HINT: only return one of them)–or if you’re a Democrat or Republican and you’ve received just one (HINT: return it by mail or drop it off at locations found on the website by June 26).
The site directs voters to JustVoteColorado, where you can find out where to vote in person or where you can drop off your ballot.
You can vote in the primary now through June 26.
JustVoteColorado also has information on how you can register to vote, if necessary, or update your current voter registration.
“We’ve seen increasing young voter participation in our elections over the last 10 years, and with new primary voting laws, we have a huge opportunity this primary season to get more young voters involved in shaping our democracy,” New Era Colorado’s Executive Director, Lizzy Stephan said in a news release. “It’s our hope that VoteintheCOPrimary.com will help facilitate voting for young people and unaffiliated voters, and prime young voters to not only vote this June, but ensure strong participation in the general election this November.”
