File photo/The Aspen Times
Election Day is here and though it is an off-year there are a number of local and state issues on the ballot, including two Aspen School District board seats and a tobacco tax for county voters.
The Pitkin County administration building, 530 E. Main St., also will be open for in-person voting Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Pitkin County residents can drop off their ballots by 7 p.m. at one of the three 24-hour drop-box locations in front of the Pitkin County administration building, Snowmass Village Town Hall and Basalt Town Hall.
Pitkin County Clerk and Recorder Janice Vos Caudill said the local trend has been for election officials to receive roughly one-third of the total ballots on Election Day and the Monday before, one-third over the early voting week and one-third between when ballots are mailed out and early voting.
As of the end of the day Sunday, Pitkin County had received 2,598 mail-in and 37 in-person ballots, according to Monday’s update from the state.
In 2017, the last off-year election, 3,860 total votes were cast (a 25% voter turnout), and in 2015 nearly 6,000 total votes were cast, a 41% voter turnout, county data show.
This year, Aspen and Pitkin County residents are tasked to decide a number of questions: who among the six candidates will fill the two open seats on the Aspen school board, if a county tobacco tax increase mirroring one passed by city of Aspen voters two years ago should be approved, if Aspen should be able to keep the extra tobacco tax it collected in 2018, and if the long running Aspen Valley Hospital mill levy should be extended.
Basalt voters will decide on if the town property tax rate should be re-established at 5.957 mills, which it was at last year, or revert to 2.562 mills. Eagle County voters in the valley also will decide on a tobacco tax. And there are three open seats (two unopposed) on the Roaring Fork schools’ board, and seats on the Colorado Mountain College board of trustees.
Eligible electors may register to vote, update their voter registration, drop off their mail ballot and secure a replacement mail ballot at the county administration building Tuesday.
Caudill said a link to official results will be posted on the Pitkin County Elections website Tuesday around 7 p.m., 9 p.m. and at the end of the night.
For coverage and updates of the local and state races, go to aspentimes.com throughout the evening.