DENVER (KDVR) — Ballots went out this week and the state wants to make sure you get those ballots in on time. They are offering a new initiative to make sure everyone has an opportunity to have their voice heard.
If you are looking to vote in person or just drop off your ballot to a drop box, the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office and RTD are making sure you have a ride there.
“Anything that we can do to make casting a ballot more feasible for eligible people, we should be looking at,” Secretary of State Jena Griswold said.
RTD service will be free on 2 days
Griswold said she is excited about the new initiative.
“RTD, in partnership with my office, is rolling out two days where Coloradans can travel on RTD services for free. They coincide with Friday, Oct. 28, which is National Vote Early Day, which is a non-partisan holiday encouraging all Americans to vote early. Then, of course, on Election Day also,” Griswold said.
All RTD services will be free for everyone on those days but the goal is to help more people get their votes counted.
This is not the first time RTD has offered free rides.
How did the zero-fare program work out?
Over the summer, RTD and other agencies across the state offered zero-fare rides with the goal of improving air quality.
Many agencies saw significant upticks in ridership. While these two days are just for RTD riders, leaders in transportation hope the state will effort more zero-fare days.
“Along with helping our ozone, we also gave people an opportunity to see how transit increased their mobility in some low-impact ways to get where they needed to go during the month of August without having to pay a fare,” said Ann Rajewski, Colorado Association of Transit Agencies executive director. “It’s a really nice way for agencies like RTD to partner with their community, with what’s going in their community right now. I think the really exciting thing about transit is that transit is often about solving problems in communities and really making things work.”
The secretary of state is encouraging people to vote whenever they can, but remember, voters have to have their ballots in a dropbox or you will need to be in line by 7 p.m. on Election Day.