DENVER — It's unsurprising, the Denver Clerk and Recorder said, that the neighborhoods with the least resources have a similar pattern when it comes to voting in elections.
Many neighborhoods face low voter registration rates coupled with another problem – registered voters who receive ballots may not return them at the rates seen in other areas across the city.
"We’ve discovered a trend and that trend is that you have some areas of the city that not only have voter eligibility but unregistered rate, a rate of unregistered voters -areas where folks are being sent their ballots but they are not returning them," said Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul López.
With 20 days to go until the election, López is working on outreach in neighborhoods like Montbello, Sun Valley and neighborhoods in West Denver including Westwood. His team is doing everything from town halls, community events and passing out yard signs to get out the vote.
López has increased the amount of secure ballot drop boxes in these neighborhoods too. Every Denver resident now lives within a mile of a drop box from their home.
"So what we have been doing has been engaging the community," said López. "We have done our best and we continue to do our best to make sure that everybody can participate in the democratic process, especially voters."
The engagement is just as important, if not more so, in neighborhoods with these low voter turnout trends. Based on Census data, those same neighborhoods face other obstacles such as higher rates of poverty, language barriers and lack of resources.
"It comes as no surprise that these are precincts and areas of town that have low return rates when it comes to returning ballots or participating in the election," said López.
The Denver native said he knows that much of the time the low voter turnout rates reflect a lack of access and information. It also reflects, he said, a sentiment that residents may feel in certain neighborhoods that their vote may not count or matter.
"Coming from one of these neighborhoods, as a young man, I know what’s that like," said López. "I know what it’s like to feel like you don’t matter in this city. However, we have a direct impact with our participation and that’s why we are doing this."
The impact is being made by community organizations, like Re:Vision based in Westwood off of Morrison Road. Just this week, they held a town hall in partnership with López. Next Thursday, Re:Vision will host a ballot party from 5 to 8 p.m. to help residents understand their ballot. It will also be in English and Spanish.
"Our organization is working really hard to help residents of our community register to vote and also, return their ballot," said Re:Vision's Executive Director Mariana del Hierro.
Besides events, Re:Vision has been doing outreach with families that participate in their other programs. There will also be a mobile polling center on Nov. 4-5 to help with access.
"We fully recognize that our vote is our voice. You know, in southwest Denver, we are a very strong community and a very connected community, in which we come out and support each other," said del Hierro. "We want to be able to be seen as a community that can make or break an election."
del Hierro said the feedback they most receive is that residents are discouraged to vote, feeling like it won't make a difference or impact on larger decisions made at the local level or higher.
"We are a very diverse community with very unique needs. If we don’t show up to vote, those unique needs won't be reflected on the decisions downtown or at the state level. It is very important for our community to show up," said del Hierro.
The team instead encourages voters that by actually casting a ballot, it ensures their needs are more likely to be prioritized when decisions are being made past Nov. 5.
"We want to make sure that we are activating community so that certain items are decided downtown that our voice is reflected via the votes that we turn in," said del Hierro.
In the meantime, López and his team are handing out things like yard signs, temporary voting tattoos. It's important he said that young people who may not yet be eligible to vote encourage their relatives and friends to do so, especially in areas where some residents may not be eligible to vote due to status.