(The Center Square) – Registered voters in Colorado can expect to see ballots for the March presidential primary election arrive in their mail boxes soon.
County clerks across the state began mailing the ballots out on Monday, which also marks the deadline for voters who are affiliated with a party to change or withdraw their affiliation so they can vote in a different party’s presidential primary.
“County clerks are sending primary ballots this week,” Secretary of State Jena Griswold said in a statement. “There is still time to register to vote if you have not already, and I encourage every eligible person to do so.”
Voters will receive ballots aligning with the major party that they are registered with, according to the secretary of state’s office. Unaffiliated voters will get a ballot from both parties, but can only fill out one of the ballots.
Former President Donald Trump is on the Republican primary ballot despite ongoing court battles.
In a 4-3 decision in December by the Colorado Supreme Court, the justices found Trump could be removed from the ballot under language found in the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. However, the justices also provided a trigger to allow his name to be placed on the ballot.
The justices on Dec. 19, delayed the effective date of their ruling until Jan. 4, the day before Griswold’s deadline to certify the presidential primary ballot. This allowed an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court to be filed. Trump did appeal on Jan. 3 and the U.S. Supreme Court days later agreed to hear the case, automatically putting his name on the state’s presidential primary ballot.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the Trump case last week, with the justices seemingly skeptical of the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling and interpretation of the 14th Amendment. If the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the Colorado Supreme Court ruling, votes for Trump in the presidential primary would not be counted, according to Griswold’s office.
In addition to Trump, the only nationally known candidate listed on the Republican ballot who’s still in the race is Nikki Haley, who formerly served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and governor of South Carolina. Texas pastor and businessman Ryan L. Binkley also is on the ballot and running. Other candidates appearing on the Republican ballot but who dropped out of the race are Vivek Ramaswamy, Asa Hutchinson, Ron DeSantis and Chris Christie.
Ballots were sent to registered military and overseas voters on Jan. 20. Griswold’s deadline to have all presidential primary ballots mailed to registered Colorado voter is Thursday. Griswold’s office suggests voters submitting their ballots by mail do so by Feb. 26.
