The Montezuma County Democrats have canceled their in-person county assembly, scheduled for Saturday afternoon.

Mary Dodd, one of the assembly’s organizers, said the group had preemptively postponed the event a few weeks ago, but Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has issued an executive order enabling the assembly to move forward through alternate measures – even if counties have to waive certain regulations.

The governor’s executive order directs “the major political parties to make any amendments necessary to their bylaws” in order to comply with the state of emergency resulting from the coronavirus.

“I also direct the Secretary of State to set deadlines consistent with any amended party rules and bylaws and take appropriate actions to allow the primary election scheduled for June 30, 2020, to proceed without interruption,” the order states.

Right now, the Montezuma County Democrats are trying to figure out how to best hold their assembly. The state Democratic party would provide resources for a conference call assembly, Dodd said, but that might require participants to have access to high-speed internet.

The other option would be for an email ballot, in which participants could fill out a survey form.

No definitive plans have yet been made, but more information will be posted on the group’s website as it becomes available.

The upcoming Democratic party’s State Assembly and Convention will be online, Dodd said.

ealvero@the-journal.com