The polling center at the Denver Coliseum in the city's northern neighborhoods looks to be one of the least accessible in the city, but special shuttles and an extra polling center might help.
Election Day doesn't mean what it used to in Colorado because mail-in ballots have given us like 20 election days. But anyone heading there to vote on November 5 and 6 will be met with a maze of road closures and detours caused by the Colorado Department of Transportation's I-70 construction. So there's that, plus the missing sidewalks that come standard in Globeville, Elyria and Swansea.
Brighton Boulevard north of I-70 and 46th Avenue east of the coliseum will be closed. So will the typically treacherous intersection of 47th and York. Kevin and I drove to the coliseum Wednesday from various origins. It wasn't straightforward, but it was possible. Walking would be another story. CDOT provided a map of the road closures as well.
CDOT will run a special shuttle service on Tuesday -- but not Monday when the polling center opens -- with pickups at 9 a.m., 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Residents can catch the 10-person vans at Focus Points and Valdez-Perry Library. CDOT will increase the frequency to meet demand, spokeswoman Rebecca White said.
Local activist and city council candidate Candi Cdebaca, who alerted Denverite of the detours, said she's concerned that the city and CDOT have not alerted residents properly.
"It's days away and nobody knows about them," Cdebaca said.
CDOT provided notifications to residents about the shuttles and attended a neighborhood Halloween party to get the word out as well, White said.
The Denver Election Division will pad north Denver's election options with a ballot box, staffed by election judges, at Swansea Recreation Center, Denver Elections Division spokesperson Alton Dillard said. It will be open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. (The polling spot isn't listed on the official map as of publishing time.) Voters can deposit ballots there but cannot expect any other services, like same-day registration. For that, or to vote without their mail-in ballot, they'll have to go to the coliseum or any other voter polling and service centers.
A spokesperson for the city, Leesly León, said residents will be notified of the additional polling center this week.
Denverites can vote at any polling center in the city -- no precincts necessary. But if you're smart, you'll hit up the Denver Coliseum site. Project VOYCE will be there with ice cream and food trucks to celebrate civic engagement, CdeBaca said.
An earlier version of this article stated Swansea Recreation Center had a 24-hour drop box, and has been corrected.
