Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — Voter registrations poured in earlier this week and early estimates show no political party in Routt County has a clear-cut advantage.

County Clerk Kay Weinland said tallies of last-minute registrations have not upset the slight lead Republican voters have over Democrats.

"But it's pretty darn close," she said.

Monday was the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 5 election. As of Thursday afternoon, the Routt County Clerk's Office had counted 7,158 unaffiliated voters, 5,417 registered Republicans, 4,231 registered Democrats and 118 voters affiliated with minor parties.

That's 16,924 registered voters so far.

But that figure should top 17,000 when all voter registrations have been tallied.

"We will have in excess of 17,000 once we get everyone that has met the deadline counted," Weinland said.

A few more stacks of voter registrations have not yet been figured into the final count.

As of August, Routt County boasted 16,712 registered voters. The Republican Party had 5,362 registered voters, compared to 4,169 Democrats.

About 7,300 registered voters were not affiliated with any party.

For now, the two major parties share a little more than half the total number of registered voters in Routt County, with Republicans holding 32 percent and Democrats holding 25 percent.

Unaffiliated voters comprise about 42 percent of the county's registered voters.

Weinland said final figures and percentages of people who can vote in the upcoming election should be available by early next week.

The Colorado Secretary of State's Office reported it was inundated with voter registrations forms at the last minute.

An eleventh-hour rush to register to vote is fairly common, Weinland said.

The important thing, she said, is that people register to vote at all.

The number of registered voters in the county has increased steadily with each election.

"It's a sign that Routt County is growing," she said.

Sample ballots, precinct maps, absentee ballot applications and general information about the Nov. 5 election are now online at www.co.routt.co.us.

Absentee ballot applications still must be faxed or mailed to the County Clerk and Recorder's office because a signature is required.

Nov. 1 is the last day to apply for an absentee ballot.

Registered voters can cast their ballot early at the County Clerk's office between Oct. 21 and Nov. 1.