August 8, 2006 Election Night Procedures with Additional Information and Dates to Remember

Denver CO, July 28, 2006 – On Election night, you may obtain unofficial election results from each County Clerk and Recorder. The Secretary of State Public Information Officer will be available at the above-mentioned phone number throughout the day and evening to answer inquiries from members of the media.

For most counties Early Voting begins on Monday, July 31 and ends on Friday, August 4. In addition, August 1, is the last day to request an Absentee ballot if the ballot is to be mailed and August 4 is the last day to request an Absentee ballot for the Primary Election if the ballot is to be picked up at the County Clerk and Recorder’s office. All Absentee ballots must be returned to the County Clerk and Recorder’s office by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.

The Secretary of State projects a voter turnout of 15.0%. In previous Primary elections, the voter turnout ranged from 11.83% in 2000 to 12.94% in 2002. Turnout in the Primary tends to be low because unaffiliated voters do not have the opportunity to select candidates for the parties.

“Voting in the Primary election is very important as it is the nomination of candidates by the parties and determines who will be on the November ballot,” Secretary of State Gigi Dennis said. “I encourage citizens to make their voice heard,” Dennis added.

Here is how the registration numbers break out by party affiliation as of July 14, 2006:
Republican – 1,050,766
Democrat – 880,627
Unaffiliated – 985,489
Libertarian – 6,273
Green – 4,866
Other – 1,207
Total: 2,929,278
(A more detailed analysis of registrations per county is available on the Secretary of State’s website at www.sos.state.co.us under the “Elections Center”.) The August voter registration numbers will be available on the Secretary of State’s website after August 15, 2006.

Important Dates to Remember:
August 8 – Primary Election
August 21 – Last day for County Clerks to submit election results to the Secretary of State.
August 28 – Last day for the Secretary of State to total returns and order recounts.
August 28 - Secretary of State will have official election results available on the “Elections Center” website.
September 7 – Last day to complete a recount.