The El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office has received 33,457 mail-in ballots from voters in El Paso County.

That’s about 10,000 more than the 22,475 mail-in ballots received by the clerk’s office during the entire 2006 primary, said Liz Olson, manager of the Election Department.

“It’s a pretty good number,” she said Tuesday.

It’s too early to draw conclusions about voter turnout or who the winners will be in the Aug. 10 primary. What the numbers suggest, said Olson, is that more people are using the mail-in ballots to cast their votes than they did several years ago.

Several hotly contested races will be decided in the primary. Running on the Republican side for governor are former six-term congressman Scott McInnis and Tea Party favorite Dan Maes. The winner will face Democrat John Hickenlooper, Denver mayor, and American Constitution Party candidate Tom Tancredo, a former Republican, in the November general election.

Ken Buck and Jane Norton are fighting it out to be the Republican candidate for the  U.S. Senate seat. On the Democratic side, former state House speaker Andrew Romanoff is hoping to unseat U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet.

Locally, Monument Police Chief Jake Shirk wants to oust two-term incumbent Terry Maketa to become El Paso County’s next sheriff.

Although the deadline is past for requesting a mail-in ballot, Olson said voters can pick up their mail-in ballots in person through Friday at the clerk’s office in Centennial Hall,  200 S. Cascade Ave.

To date, 109,054 mail-in ballots have been sent to voters. Registered voters have until 7 p.m. on Election Day to return those ballots to the clerk’s office.

Voter information cards also have been sent out. Olson urged voters to pay attention to the polling information listed on the cards, as many polling locations have changed this year.

For more information, voters can go to the Clerk and Recorder’s website at http://car.elpaso.com/election or call the Election Department at (719) 575-VOTE.—Call the writer at 476-4825.

Air Force coach Troy Calhoun barks instructions to his players Monday during practice. Photo by MARK REIS, THE GAZETTE

MARK REIS