Over a Thousand Trinidad Voters Sent Ballots Missing City TABOR Question
More than 1,000 registered voters inside Trinidad city limits received county ballots that omitted Ballot Issue 2A, a city TABOR excise tax question. The county clerk has taken responsibility, ordered corrected ballots, and is asking affected voters to return the corrected ballots so the city measure can be decided.
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Officials in Las Animas County say about 1,095 Trinidad residents were mailed the wrong ballot for the upcoming election, a mistake that left out a city ballot measure that would ask voters to approve funds for local parks, playgrounds and open space improvements.
Las Animas County Clerk and Recorder Karrie Apple said the error occurred when the clerk's spreadsheet merged with the state ballot production system in a way that mislabeled city ballots. The label intended to read City of Trinidad was coded instead as Trinidad out, which resulted in county ballots being produced and mailed to addresses inside the Trinidad city boundary. Apple acknowledged responsibility for the error. "I am going to take responsibility for this," Apple said.
The clerk's office notified the Colorado Secretary of State, re ordered corrected ballots and began mailing replacement ballots this week that include the missing Ballot Issue 2A language. County officials said they worked through the weekend to get the corrected ballots printed and sent as quickly as possible.
The office is holding incorrect ballots that have already been returned and they will not be entered into the count while corrected ballots are en route. Voters who returned the incorrect county ballot will be allowed to vote again using the corrected city ballot. If a voter does not send a corrected ballot by 7 p.m. on election day, the county will count the already returned incorrect ballot for the contests that appear on it, including presidential and statewide measures. The county will not include the city TABOR question on that ballot.
Locally the omission has direct consequences for small scale municipal projects. Ballot Issue 2A is a TABOR style excise tax lodging question designed to generate revenue for parks and open spaces in Trinidad. The absence of the question on more than a thousand ballots could affect voter participation on the measure and the amount of local funding available for maintenance and improvements if voters do not receive or return corrected ballots.
Clerk Apple urged voters who received the incorrect ballot to destroy the incorrect version and return the corrected ballot so they can cast a vote on the city issue. County officials encourage anyone with questions to call the clerk's office for guidance on how to proceed and to confirm whether a corrected ballot has been sent.
News5 included a video interview with Clerk Apple as part of its reporting. The county says it has coordinated with state officials and taken steps to ensure the corrected ballots are counted and that voters inside the city limits have the opportunity to decide the local parks and open space funding proposal.
