Not every Colorado county is holding an election in November

DENVER, September 22, 2017 -- Saturday is the deadline for counties to mail overseas and military ballots for the Nov. 7 election, but every community in six separate counties have canceled their elections and those six county clerks aren't going to send any ballots at all.

Election officials in Colorado's other 58 counties must meet Saturday's deadline and then begin mailing the remaining ballots to registered voters starting Monday, Oct. 16.

Cheyenne, Dolores, Grand, Hinsdale, Mineral and Washington counties have no contested school board races or city council elections or any local financial measures, the issues that typically populate the ballot in an "odd year."

And there is no statewide issue on the ballot for the first time since 2009. Statewide measures in the odd year are limited to matters arising under the Taxpayer's Bill of Rights or TABOR, which voters approved in 1992. Those type of proposals include a new tax, a tax rate increase or an extension of an expiring tax. If there were a statewide measure, those six counties with no local issues would still have to hold an election.

"Coloradans relish the opportunity to vote when there are choices to make," Secretary of State Wayne Williams said today. "But I learned firsthand as a county clerk that Coloradans don't want to pay for mailing ballots without any races in them."

November elections are known as "coordinated elections" in odd-years, and "general elections" in even-years.

The ballot for the 2018 general election will include the statewide constitutional offices -- governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state and treasurer -- all seven congressional seats, legislative races, county officers such as clerk, judicial retention questions, and a variety of state and local ballot measures, which are not limited to tax topics.