Closure will include the building’s Voter Service and Polling Center
The Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners tonight voted to close its CentrePoint Plaza, 14980 E. Alameda Drive in Aurora, on Saturday, June 27, because of expected demonstrations and resulting road closures at and around the nearby Aurora Municipal Building. This closure means that the Voter Service and Polling Center (VSPC) at CentrePoint Plaza will also be closed tomorrow.
The Board made this decision out of an abundance of caution for voters, elections staff and volunteers who were scheduled to be in the CentrePoint building for voting services. The Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder’s office requested approval for the temporary closure from the Colorado Secretary of State, but the request was denied. The Board subsequently decided to close the entire CentrePoint building, which includes the VSPC.
Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder Joan Lopez supports the Board’s decision. “Our main goal is always to ensure that our citizens can exercise their right to vote safely, and after extensive discussions with local police and County officials, we determined that closing the CentrePoint Building, and therefore the Voter Service Center, was the best way to do this,” said County Clerk and Recorder Joan Lopez. “We encourage voters to visit another VSPC if they want to vote in person on Saturday, or drop off their ballot at any of our 24-hour drop boxes.”
Sheriff Tyler Brown agrees that a temporary closure is the safest course of action. “The Aurora Police Department is closing roads and intersections around the site in anticipation of a large turnout,” he said. “This would make it extremely difficult to ensure that anyone working or voting at the VSPC would be able to leave the area safely and quickly if necessary.”
All Arapahoe County officials support the right to peaceful protest and made this decision reluctantly. “After receiving information from the Aurora Police Department and the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office about the large protest scheduled for Saturday afternoon near the CentrePoint building, the Board decided that it would be safer for our staff and voters to close the building that was scheduled to be open between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m.,” said Arapahoe County Board Chair Nancy Sharpe. “We’re making this decision as a last resort. But the County has jurisdiction over the CentrePoint building and all of our facilities, and it’s essential for us to protect our voters and staff.”
Voters can drop off ballots for the June 30 State Primary Election at one of the 30 drop boxes around the County. The nearest drop box to CentrePoint is at the Arapahoe County Aurora Motor Vehicle office, 490 S. Chambers Road. For those who wish to vote in person, the nearest VSPC to CentrePoint is at Martin Luther King, Jr. Library, 9898 E. Colfax Avenue in Aurora, which will be open from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday. Other drop box and VSPC locations can be found on arapahoevotes.com.
The CentrePoint VSPC will resume normal operations on Monday, June 29 at 9 a.m.