Voting by mail ballot has become the most preferred method of casting votes in Delta County, reports Ann Eddins, county clerk and recorder, and Renee Loy, county elections director.

The elections department reports that of all active voters in countywide elections, 63 percent have requested permanent mail-in ballots, even for use in elections where physical polling places are available.

Broken down by political affiliation, 65 percent of Democrats have chosen mail-in ballots, compared to 64 percent of Republicans and 57 percent of unaffiliated voters.

The Aug. 10 primary election will be the first primary ever conducted by mail-in ballot in Delta County, and in other Colorado counties. That is because of new legislation providing for primary elections by mail-in vote.

Local voters shouldn’t expect to see anything very different in the voting process from past mail-in elections.

One new wrinkle in the Aug. 10 primary process is the special mailing that will go out to all unaffiliated voters between June 28 and July 9. The notice will inform these non-party affiliated “independent” voters of the requirements and deadlines of party affiliation required to vote in a primary election.

The reasons for voters’ acceptance of mail-in voting are many, but obvious to most. The convenience of not having to go to a polling place on election day and wait in line is important.

Issues that appear on ballots are growing in number, length, and complexity. People like to study and consider ballot questions at their leisure before making their ballots.

But set against those user-friendly advantages of the mail-in ballot are voter concerns about the security and reliability of a mail-in vote. Aside from voters’ personal preference for voting in person, all of the objections that have been raised to mail-in voting have been addressed in one way.

For example, Eddins explained that immediately upon opening the voter-signed outer envelope, it is physically separated from the internal security sleeve containing the marked ballot. That procedure alone, Eddins said, guarantees there is no way that any individual ballot can be identified with the voter.

The post office gives top priority to delivering ballots by the election day deadline, Loy explained. But if voters don’t want to rely on the post office to deliver their vote, or if they don’t want to pay postage, they can drop their ballot off in person at the courthouse in Delta or the annex in Hotchkiss by 7 p.m. on election day.

Voters are welcome to call or schedule a visit to the elections department for an explanation or demonstration of some of the system checks and back-up procedures designed to keep votes confidential and ensure that each vote is correctly counted and tabulated.

Also this year, April 6 municipal elections taking place in Delta, Orchard City and Cedaredge will be conducted via mail-in ballot through the county clerk. The three North Fork Valley municipalities have opted to provide their own polling places, Eddins said.

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