Monday Is Registration Deadline, Election Forum Slated

SAN MIGUEL COUNTY – “This is the largest ballot, I have heard, since 1912,” San Miguel County Clerk Peggy Nerlin said on Wednesday, emphasizing the importance of mail-in and early voting.

Oct. 6 is the last day to register to vote in San Miguel County. Those who are interested in requesting a mail-in ballot have until Oct. 28 to do so and the county will mail it back. The final deadline for requesting a mail-in ballot is Oct. 31 but then the ballot must be picked up at the San Miguel County Courthouse.

Early voting starts Oct. 20 and goes through Oct. 31 and will be held at the Telluride Marshal’s Department Community Room. Early voting will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on those 10 business days.

According to Nerlin, a good number of voters in the county have already decided to vote with a mail-in ballot.

“I think at least 45 percent of voters are going to be mail-in,” she said. “We are getting close to 50 applications a day for the mail-in ballots. Our staff is processing them.”

While voters are encouraged to vote on election day, Nerlin said with a ballot of this size (the county’s precinct 1 ballot, for instance, is eight pages long) voters need to be informed of the ballot issues before they show up to vote.

“You are going to need to be prepared,” Nerlin said. “One of the county clerks on the Eastern Slope said people need to bring their lunch.”

Voters should have already received the state blue book that outlines initiatives that will be on the ballot at the state level. The San Miguel County book is going to be mailed today.

Voters are encouraged to pick up a sample ballot (available sometime by the end of next week) from the County Courthouse and then fill it out before they enter a voting booth. Sample ballots may be brought into the voter’s booth on the Nov. 4 Election Day as reference.

Those who have recently relocated to San Miguel County or have changed their local address or name need to submit a voter registration form by Monday to ensure they remain eligible.

Voter registration forms are available at the San Miguel County Courthouse at 305 W. Colorado. Voter registration forms are also available on the web through the county's website at HYPERLINK "http://www.sanmiguelcounty.org/"www.sanmiguelcounty.org.

2008 County Election Forum Slated for Monday

The Telluride Rotary Club, Telluride Association of Realtors and the Telluride Business Alliance will be sponsoring a county election forum on Monday, Oct. 6 from 6-8:15 p.m at Christ Church. The evening will include a discussion with the San Miguel County Commissioner candidates as well as a discussion on the four major ballot issues.

The evening will begin with a debate between incumbent Green Party candidate Art Goodtimes, Democrat Oak Smith and Republican Bill Wenger, who are competing to represent the county’s third district, which covers the west end. The debate agenda will begin with candidate introductions and then will move into pre-determined questions. That will be followed by candidate-to-candidate questions and then audience questions.

The second half of the evening will dedicated to the Child Care, School Expansion, New Hospital, and Spur Improvement ballot initiatives.

Each ballot issue will be presented by a paid staff person. A list of anonymous questions which will be read by moderator Seth Cagin. Questions may be emailed to Judy Kiernan at jkiernan2@adelphia.net.

Two other forums are scheduled but dates and times are still to be determined.