Thread by @MarioNicolaiEsq

🧵on Colorado Primary Voting

I received my ballot in the mail a couple days ago and this thread will be an "unboxing" and explanation of voting in the primary for unaffiliated voters with sprinkles of how well our #VoteByMail systems work.

#copolitics #Vote

/2 So we are all on the same page, Colorado has a universal vote by mail system.

That means a ballot is mailed out to every registered voter. They can return it in multiple ways:
- by mail
- drop it in a drop box
- drop it off at a polling place

/3 Upon opening the envelope, one of the first things to come out is a handy instruction pamphlet.

It explains LOTS OF STUFF! What is in the packet, how to vote, where to return your ballot, how to track it, and how to determine the security of the election.

/4 How cool is it that you can TRACK your ballot! It will let you know when it is received, processed and counted.

Talk about security!

/5 The back side provides the location of 24-Hour Ballot #DropBoxes (pics to follow) and in-person voter service and polling places.

/6 Next, we have this big warning page.

Why? Because I am an registered in Colorado as an unaffiliated (i.e. independent) voter. Under our laws, unaffiliated can vote in EITHER the Democratic or Republican primary, BUT NOT BOTH.

/7 I have written about this on several occasions in the @ColoradoSun
coloradosun.com/2022/06/05/nic…

/8 Here are the two primary ballots I received!

/9 You can see that on the Democratic ticket there is not much going on - literally no contested races on my ballot.

/10 In contrast, the Republican Party Primary Ballot has several contested races.

/11 As I have also written in the @ColoradoSun, several of these races are VERY IMPORTANT.

They could be existential contests not just for the Colorado GOP, but the state and country as a whole.
coloradosun.com/2022/06/12/nic…

/12 IMO, people like Ron Hanks and Tina Peters and Laurel Imer represent the greatest threat to our country since the Civil War.

Hence, as you can see, I voted for @ODeaForColorado , @AndersonCOSoS and really anyone but Imer (in this case @TimReichertCO)

/13 While I had "Imer/Anyone Else" on my ballot b/c I live in the CO 7th Cong Dist, there are several other biggies in the state.

I would suggest the following:
- 8th CD: Anyone But Saine
- 3rd CD: FOR THE LOVE OF GOD VOTE FOR @coramforco over Lauren Qbert Boebert!!!!!!!!

/14 Since I voted the Republican Primary Ballot, what did I do with my Democratic Primary Ballot you ask?

Good question!

TOSS IT IN THE TRASH. Really. I like some of the candidates here and will be considering them in November, but if I vote it I will cancel all my ballots.

/15 Next I grabbed my return envelope. It has a super helpful reminder that my ballot must be received by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day and a web link for drop-off locations: VoteJeffCo.com

/16 On the back it has a reminder to:

1. Make sure to sign the self-affirmation at the bottom (I did)

2. Insert only ONE completed ballot (remember, I tossed the Democratic Party Ballot in the trash)

/17 In goes the ballot!

/18 I then walked over to a secure ballot-drop box.

There are a ton of these in Colorado and it makes returning ballots super easy. As I said, I WALKED OVER - and I live in a suburb.

It is crazy that more states do not do this - or even try to limit the number of drop-boxes.

/19 In case you wondered, these are super secure.

As the pictures demonstrate, they are made of a reinforced steel, bolted to a concrete slab, have a small lockable slot for ballots, and are under constant video-surveillance.

SECURE!

/20 Then it is just a question of popping the ballot in the box!

/21 #Vote #copolitics #votebymail #dropboxes

/22 A big thanks to @georgestern, the JeffCo Clerk and Recorder, and his team for getting this out. It cannot be overstated how important the THOUSANDS of election officials in clerks offices across the country are to our democracy.

They. Make. It. Work.

/23 Similarly, the folks in the office of the @COSecofState overseeing the election are fantastic. I have worked with many of them for years and they are exceptional whether it is an R or D in office.

/24 Understand, the election officials in both the clerks' offices and the Sec.'s of State offices continue to provide these services despite a constant stream of unsubstantiated claims of fraud and malfeasance and bias - and the subsequent threats of violence. HEROES.

/25 UPDATE!!!

It took less than 24 hours for my vote to be collected, processed and counted!

/26 That is a lesson that EVERY state should take from Colorado. We do NOT process and count mail ballots on Election Day, but as they come in.

That means when the first batch of numbers come out, they are pretty close to accurate and include most votes.

/27 The reasons that "batches of votes just appear" in places that neither process or count until Election Day (e.g. PA), is because they have to do all the processing CO did over the course of weeks in one day ... hence, sometimes it takes days for all votes to be counted.