With five City Council seats and four ballot questions on the April 7 ballot, Cortez officials are urging nearly 1,000 inactive voters to update their information before ballots go out.
According to City Clerk Danielle Wells, 965 out of 6,765 voters in Cortez are inactive.
“There’s quite a large gap of people who either aren’t registered or have gone inactive,” said city spokeswoman Kelly Codner. Inactive voters are registered to vote; however, they are unable to vote by mail or in person as the county clerk has identified some portion of their voter information – often their address – is out of date or requires confirmation.
Cortez voters need to be active to vote in the April 7 election. The city will mail ballots to active voters starting March 16. The 24-hour ballot box in the City Hall parking lot at 123 E. Roger Smith Ave. opens the same day.
Voters will choose five candidates out of 11 to fill seats on the City Council. The League of Women Voters of Montezuma County will host a candidate forum at City Hall on March 11 at 6:30 p.m. Karen Sheek, the chair of the organization and former mayor of Cortez, said six candidates have confirmed their attendance so far.
“We’re hoping that we have participation from all of them,” Sheek said. “This is a very good opportunity to introduce themselves to the public.”
The ballot will also include four ballot questions, covering grammatical amendments to the City Charter as well as the required separation between term limits for City Council members. Other questions address the designated location for City Council meetings and clarify City Council qualifications, duties and compensation.
Cortez residents can view a sample ballot on the elections page of the city website.
Sheek encouraged people to register or update their voter information by visiting GoVoteColorado.gov.
“Colorado is a state where it’s really, really easy to vote,” Sheek said. “It’s a very easy process, but it’s always a good idea to call and make sure.”
Codner said Cortez residents can also register or update their registration by going in person to the Montezuma County Clerk and Recorder’s Office at 140 W. Main St.
“We want everyone to have the opportunity to vote,” Codner said.
avanderveen@the-journal.com
