Montezuma County caucuses to be held March 6

Republican and Democrat voters can join
Jim Mahlberg, reflected in the mirror at right, leads the 2016 Republican caucus in Mancos.

Montezuma County’s 11 voting precincts will hold caucuses on March 6 to elect the Republican and Democrat delegates who will organize each party’s activities in the 2018 elections.

Registered voters who are affiliated with one of the major parties and have lived in a precinct for at least 30 days can participate in a caucus. At these events, voters will choose delegates to attend the county assembly, where they will vote on each party’s candidates for the state primary elections. County Clerk Kim Percell announced the Republican caucus locations on Monday, and the Montezuma County Democrats released a list of their caucus locations on Tuesday.

Republican voters can participate in caucuses at Pleasant View Fire Department (Precinct 1), Ponderosa Restaurant (Precinct 2), Lewis-Arriola Community Center (Precinct 3), Lighthouse Baptist Church (Precinct 4), Cortez Elks Lodge (Precinct 5), Towaoc Community Center (Precinct 6), First Assembly of God (Precinct 7), Hospice of Montezuma (Precinct 8), Montezuma Valley Presbyterian Church (Precinct 9), Lifeway Baptist Church (Precinct 10) and Mancos Public Library (Precinct 11). The caucus locations for precincts 4 and 8 have changed since last year.

Democrat caucuses will be held at the McAfee residence (Precinct 1), Dolores Community Center (Precincts 2 and 3), the Montezuma County Annex (Precincts 4 through 10) and Mount Lookout Grange (Precinct 11).

The Montezuma County Republicans are offering preregistration online for registered Republicans through their website.

Tamara Hamilton, secretary and treasurer for the Montezuma County Democrats, said participating voters will be checked against voter lists at the door, so the party is not offering preregistration. The Democrats’ website directs voters with questions to contact the current party officers for each precinct.

All precinct caucuses will begin at 7 p.m., according to Percell. A map of the voting precincts can be found on the Montezuma County website under “Departments and Contacts” and “GIS and Mapping.”

County assemblies will be held no later than 25 days after the caucuses.

This article was reposted March 1 to correct three Republican caucus locations.

Democrats announce year-round office

On Wednesday, the Montezuma County Democrats announced the establishment of a year-round headquarters on 215 E. Main St. The office, dubbed “The People’s Place” in a news release from vice chairman Henk Huetink, is open Tuesday through Saturday. According to the release, the party plans to hold a public open house sometime after the March 6 caucus.

“The People’s Place” will be the new hub for Democrat activities in the county, including organizational meetings, candidate receptions and campaign meetings.

“We will continue to strengthen our presence and engage in conversation with residents about the processes of our democracy,” Huetink said in the release.

The Journal

Find out more

All Montezuma County caucuses will be held at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 6.

To get details about each Montezuma County’s precinct caucus, go to

montezumagop.com

and click on the “Maps” tab, or go to

www.montezumadems.org

and click on the “Precincts” tab.

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