Colorado’s county clerks are gearing up to send out a record number of primary election ballots this week as the state’s unaffiliated voters — the largest voting bloc — get their first-ever chance to vote in a primary contest.

But with that new opportunity for the more than 1.1 million active voters not tied to a political party — thanks to the 2016 passage of Proposition 108 — comes some new processes.

And if they’re not careful, unaffiliated voters’ newfound ability to vote in a primary might not count.

“The main thing we want people to know is they can participate,” said Lynn Bartels, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office. “Before, they couldn’t participate without affiliating with one party or another.”

County clerks will begin to mail out ballots June 4.

Here’s what unaffiliated voters need to know ahead of the June 26 primary election:

Requesting a ballot

It’s too late to ask your county clerk for a specific party’s primary ballot.

Unaffiliated voters had until Tuesday to request either a Democratic or Republican primary ballot from election officials.

As of Tuesday, 42,486 unaffiliated voters across Colorado had requested a specific party’s primary ballot. Of them, 56.1 percent wanted Democratic ballots and 37.7 percent wanted one for the GOP.

Unaffiliated voters who request a third-party primary ballot will be sent both a Democratic and Republican primary ballot because there are no third-party primaries.

If you didn’t request a specific ballot, don’t worry. You’ll simply be sent a primary ballot for both the Democratic and Republican candidates.

(In case you were wondering, there are roughly 1 million voters each registered as Democrats or Republicans in Colorado. They will get only their party’s primary ballot.)

One at a time

Here’s the Catch-22: Unaffiliated voters can only cast a ballot in one party’s primary.

So that means if you didn’t specify that you wanted a Republican or Democratic ballot and you are sent both, you can only fill out one or the other.

If you try to send both back, both will be invalidated.

“If you return both, neither one counts,” Bartels said. “We only want you to send us one back.”

County clerks and the Secretary of State’s Office have been working hard to get the word out about the new rules. Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder Matt Crane said his office has sent out mailers and emails trying to educate voters.

”The last thing we want to see is anybody have their ballot spoiled because they vote both and send both back,” Crane said.

Returning your ballot

Primary election ballots have to be in the hands of county clerks by 7 p.m. on Election Day.

If you want to mail your ballot back, officials urge you to do so at least eight days out. So this year, that means June 18.

You also can drop your ballot off at your county’s 24-hour election boxes (except in Mineral and Jackson counties, which don’t offer that service.)

In 2016, 66 percent of voters chose to use the drop boxes to cast their ballot, while 27 percent mailed them back and 7 percent voted in person.

And yes, you can choose to vote in person for the primary.

One potential consequence of unaffiliated voters being able to participate in the primary this year is that results on Election Day could be slower to be announced.

“It may take a little longer to count the ballots — we anticipate that happening,” Crane said.

What if I don’t want to vote?

“The No. 1 question I get from unaffiliated voters is, ‘Why can’t I opt out and not receive ballots?’ ” Bartels said.

The way that Proposition 108 was written and passed in 2016 mandates that all unaffiliated voters get a primary ballot. That means you can’t call up your county clerk and tell them to hold off on sending you one.

(That’s partly why more ballots will be sent out this election in Colorado than ever before.)

Should you choose not to vote in the primary, or should you be sent two ballots and only fill out one, state election officials urge you to destroy any ballot you don’t use to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands.

Shred it, burn it, tear it up.

It’s important to note that should unaffiliated voters choose to cast a ballot in the primary, the party’s primary they voted in will be public record. However, as always, who they voted for will remain confidential.

For more on the 2018 primaries, visit the Colorado Secretary of State’s website.

If you want more information on the 2018 elections, check out the links below: