Election week in Eagle County: a ballot briefing in Edwards tonight, a vote-early gathering Saturday
With ballots already in mailboxes, Eagle County voters get two Edwards gatherings this week to work through a long Nov. 3 ballot: a nonpartisan initiatives review tonight and a vote-early celebration on Saturday that ends at a ballot drop box.
Eagle County's general election moves from mailboxes to meeting rooms this week, with two Edwards gatherings built around the same task: helping voters work through a long ballot before the Nov. 3 election. The first is tonight, Tuesday, Oct. 13, and the second follows on Saturday, Oct. 17, two days before in-person vote centers begin opening across the county.
Tonight: Ballots and Brews in Edwards
The Eagle County Democrats hold their monthly meeting as Ballots and Brews tonight from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Hovey and Harrison, 56 Edwards Village Blvd., Unit 120, in Edwards. The evening features a nonpartisan review of the general election ballot initiatives presented by Chris Romer, president and CEO of the Vail Valley Partnership, according to the organizer's event page. The review is pitched at a familiar problem: ballot language can be confusing, and a yes or no vote does not always mean what a voter first assumes it means.
Voters hoping to walk in should know the organizer lists the event as at maximum capacity, and says to look for another event soon. The capacity note underlines the demand for plain-language ballot help in a year when Eagle County voters are deciding town council seats, local tax questions and a school funding measure alongside statewide contests.
Saturday: No Kings Vote Early in Edwards
On Saturday, Oct. 17, the No Kings: Vote Early event runs from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Edwards Early Learning Center, 1121 Miller Ranch Road in Edwards, according to the event listing on Indivisible. Organizers describe this edition of No Kings as not purely a protest but a day of nonpartisan voter participation, bringing Eagle County residents together to celebrate their rights, vote early and make sure every eligible voter understands their options for how to vote.
Attendees will hear about the ballot initiatives, write postcards encouraging others to vote, and can sign up for election protection teams. At the conclusion of the event, participants will march together, with their ballots, to the ballot drop box at the nearby Eagle County Commons. The listing notes that in Colorado, a voter can drop a ballot in any drop box in the state, so voters from out of town can also participate.
The calendar behind the events
The gatherings land mid-stream in the county's election calendar. The Eagle County Clerk and Recorder mailed ballots to active registered voters on Oct. 7, and the county's 24-hour ballot boxes opened the same day, according to the county elections office. Vote centers open Oct. 19 in Edwards and El Jebel, Oct. 26 in Eagle and Oct. 28 in Vail.
Ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 3, and postmarks do not count, the county elections office warns. Voters who have not received a ballot, need a replacement or prefer to vote in person can visit any open vote center once centers begin opening on Oct. 19.
