Hillary Hall: A letter from the Boulder County Clerk & Recorder
Posted May 9, 2008
As Boulder County Clerk & Recorder, I'm dedicated to upholding the democratic right to vote for all County residents. That means ensuring fair, accessible, accurate elections. I also believe it means offering secure options that will enable the greatest number of eligible voters to cast their votes.
My office recently sent a mailing to Boulder County voters to notify them that they have the option to vote by mail. Last year, state legislature passed a law allowing voters to sign up as permanent mail-ballot voters if they so choose. Our notification also told voters about this new option, and noted that the permanent mail-in option is most appropriate for voters who plan to reside at the same address for a long time. Voters also have the option to either return their ballots by mail or drop it off in person.
We have three methods of voting in our County: voting by mail, early voting, and voting at a polling place. I am committed to providing all of these choices to Boulder County voters. Only voters who choose to sign up to vote by mail will do so in this year's elections, and our signature verification system ensures that all sign-up requests and completed ballots are from the legitimate voter.
Approximately 47,000 active Boulder County voters out of 153,308 total active voters in our County have chosen to vote by mail and more than 1,000 sign up everyday in response to our mailing. I wanted to ensure all voters were informed of this option. I think this is a wonderful demonstration of democracy in action as residents countywide take steps to ensure that they will participate in our elections.
I'm also pleased to add that, in addition to increasing voter participation in elections, providing the option to vote by mail saves valuable tax dollars. Delivering a mail ballot costs half as much as delivering a ballot to a polling location. I have a financial responsibility to make our elections as economical as possible while providing our voters with the voting methods they prefer to use which means that we will continue to offer voting at polling locations while also keeping voters informed of their right to vote by mail.
Regardless of your voting preference, I encourage everyone to embrace our county's democratic rights and participate in the 2008 elections, whether by mail, early voting or polling place. And if you enjoy the energy and visibility of polling-place voting, I encourage you to sign up to serve as a 2008 Boulder County election judge. It's yet another way to uphold our precious democracy.
Hillary Hall
Boulder County Clerk & Recorder
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