As of Monday afternoon there were 5,150 ballots returned in Routt County, as turnout trends below 2021.
Voters in Routt County had returned 5,150 ballots as of Monday afternoon, according to County Clerk and Recorder Jenny Thomas. That equates to a turnout of about 25% of registered voters.
Thomas said she expected another 2,000 to 3,000 ballots to be turned in on Election Day. Even on the high side, that would leave turnout below where it stood in 2021.
Out of ballots received by Monday Afternoon, 2,782 of those are ballots from within the city of Steamboat Springs.
In 2021, turnout across Routt County was about 44.3% (about 9,400 votes cast). It was slightly lower in Steamboat, with about 43.5% of registered voters casting their ballot (about 5,000 votes cast). Turnout from 2022 doesn’t reveal much about this year, as that election featured federal and state candidates as well.
Ballots can be returned at the County’s voting center at the new Health and Human Services building at 135 Sixth Street, or at drop boxes at a number of locations around Routt County. Drop boxes are at Hayden Town Hall, Oak Creek Town Hall, Yampa Town Hall and the Clark Store in North Routt. The County Clerk’s Office says these boxes will be available until 7 p.m. (so if you are late voting today, you don’t have to drive to Steamboat).
Election judges work to count ballots as they come in, so by the time polls close on election night, a large portion of the vote has already been counted. After 7 p.m. the Clerk’s Office will upload the first round of results. Another round will be uploaded around 9 p.m. and the final update will come around midnight.