Voters will have until April 3, 2007 to select the City's Mayor and four Council Members for the next four years as well as the answers to five ballot questions. City Council decided to conduct the April 3 General Municipal Election by mail ballot after reviewing costs for the more conventional precinct election method. The mail ballot option is saving the City an estimated $209,000. In 2003, the City's General Municipal Election conducted by mail ballot and resulted in voter participation of 58 percent, higher than in the last 16 years of past elections.

"The mail ballot election may allow more people to vote due to improved access for those who aren't able to get to the polls," said Colorado Springs City Clerk Kathryn Young. "Mail ballots also allow more time for voters to study the candidates and issues before making their decisions."

A mail ballot election eliminates the need for early voting and polling places. Instead, voters can mark the ballot at home and either mailed in the return envelope back to the City Clerk's office or dropped off at one of four designated sites no later than 7 p.m. on April 3.

Mail ballot voting tips:

· In addition to the ballot, voters will receive a secrecy envelope and a return mailing envelope. Once they have voted, voters should insert the ballot into the secrecy envelope and then into the return envelope.

· Voters must sign and date the back of the return envelope. The signature on the back of the return envelope is scanned for verification, so voters will be called and asked to come into the Clerk's Office to sign the voter affidavit if the signature is missing.

· First-time voters who registered by mail must include identification, such as a copy of a driver's license or passport, with the ballot for it to count.

· Ballots may be returned with 39 cents postage or deposited at one of four designated drop off sites. If voters choose to mail their ballots, allow enough time for the ballot to be received in the City Clerk's Office no later than 7 p.m. on Election Day, April 3, 2007. Drop off sites will remain open until 7 p.m. on Election Day to accommodate last-minute voters. These voters will need to hand deliver their ballots, rather than mail them, since ballots received after the Election Day deadline can't be counted, even if postmarked before Election Day.

2007 designated drop off sites:

Colorado Springs City Clerk's Office, 30 South Nevada Avenue, Ste. 101, March 14 through April 2 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and April 3 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Colorado Springs Senior Center, 1514 North Hancock Avenue, March 19 through April 2 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and April 3 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Cottonwood Creek Recreation Center, 3920 Dublin Boulevard, March 19 through April 2 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and April 3 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Sand Creek Family Center, 550 Sand Creek Drive, March 19 through April 2 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and April 3 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

As a security measure, the US Postal Service will not forward election ballots if the voter has moved. Registered, active voters who did not receive their mail ballot may still vote if they contact the City Clerk's Office by the April 3, 2007 Election Day deadline.

For more information on the election or mail ballot process, visit www.SpringsGov.com/election or call the Colorado Springs City Clerk's Office, 30 S. Nevada Ave, Suite 101, at (719) 385-5901. A demonstration video on how to vote by mail ballot is also available online from the above Web site.