Kim Habicht, Boulder County.

Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams has launched a campaign to inform unaffiliated voters that they can participate in the 2018 primary races and choose whether to receive a Republican or Democratic ballot.

In 2016, the Colorado State Legislature passed a law that granted unaffiliated voters the right to vote in primaries. This year, unaffiliated voters can choose to be mailed a Republican or Democratic ballot.

Unaffiliated voters make up the largest voting bloc in Gilpin County, at 1,709 voters. There are 1,201 registered Democrats and 1,068 registered Republicans in the county.

If unaffiliated voters do not indicate a preference of ballot, they will still receive both in the mail. However, Secretary of State Williams emphasized that if voters return both ballots, their vote will not be counted.

The incentive for indicating a preference online, according to Mesa County Clerk Sheila Reiner, is that it will reduce the taxpayer money necessary to mail ballots.

Ballots will be mailed to registered voters during the first week in June. Colorado’s state primary is on June 26, 2018.