Colorado voting issues

Election and registration information

 * Colorado Secretary of State Election Center website.


 * To register to vote.


 * To verify whether you are registered to vote.


 * Colorado Voter Registration Guide from the National Campaign for Fair Elections.


 * Polling place hours: 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.


 * Registration deadline 29 days before the election, which is October 6, 2008.

Identification required for registration

 * First-Time Voter Registering by Mail


 * You must submit a copy of one of the following with your registration application:
 * A valid Colorado driver's license;
 * A valid identification card issued by the Department of Revenue in accordance with the requirements of part 3 of article 2 of title 42, C.R.S.;
 * A valid United States passport
 * A valid employee identification card with a photograph issued by any branch, department, agency, or entity of the United States government or of this state, or by any county, municipality, board, authority, or other political subdivision of this state;
 * A valid pilot's license issued by the federal aviation administration or other authorized agency of the United States;
 * A valid United States military identification card with a photograph;
 * A copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government document that shows your name and address;
 * A valid medicare or medicaid card issued by the United States health care financing administration;
 * A certified copy of a birth certificate issued in the United States;
 * Certified documentation of naturalization; or
 * A valid student identification card with a photograph issued by an institution of higher education in Colorado, as defined in section 23-3.1-102 (5), C.R.S.


 * Or you may provide one of the following numbers:
 * A valid Colorado driver's license number;
 * A valid identification card issued by the Department of Revenue in accordance with the requirements of part 3 of article 2 of title 42, C.R.S.;
 * At least the last four digits of your Social Security Number.


 * Otherwise, you will be required to submit a copy of identification listed above with your mail ballot or absentee ballot.


 * If you register in person, you will need one of the following:


 * A valid Colorado driver's license number;
 * Valid Colorado Department of Revenue Identification number;
 * At least the last four digits of your Social Security number;
 * If you do not have a Colorado driver's license number, a valid identification number issued by the Department of Revenue or Social Security number, you will be issued a unique identifying number and be registered to vote.

Absentee voting

 * Any eligible voter may elect to vote by Mail-In (or Absentee) Ballot either permanently or for just the current year.


 * Application for Mail-In Voting:


 * Rules and Deadlines:


 * If you wish to have your Mail-In Ballot mailed to you, the application must be received by your County Clerk's Office by close of business on the Tuesday that is seven (7) days before the election.  2008 General Election: 10/28/2008.
 * Mail-In Ballots may be received in person at the County Clerk's Office until close of business on the Friday before the election. 2008 General Election: 10/31/2008.

Early voting

 * Colorado allows for early voting during regular business hours for ten days before a primary election and a special legislative election and for fifteen days before a general election.


 * 2008 General Election: Early voting begins on 10/20/2008.


 * To find your early voting polling place, contact your County Election Officials


 * Ballots are cast in the same manner as any ballot would be cast on Election Day.

Provisional voting

 * Colorado Provisional Ballot FAQs

From the FAQ:

When voters arrive at the polling place on Election Day, the election judges check the poll book (a list of all of the jurisdiction's registered voters), to confirm that the voter is properly registered and at the correct polling place.

A voter whose name is not found in the poll book on Election Day or does not have adequate identification is given a provisional ballot. Provisional ballots are distinguished from regular ballots so that the election authority can later investigate the provisional voter's registration status.

When county clerk and recorders verify a provisional voter’s registration status, they check four databases to ensure the voter is a resident of the county, is not registered in another county, is not a felon, and is not a deceased person.

Provisional Ballots are checked against the following databases:


 * 1) State of Colorado voter registration database
 * 2) County Clerk and Recorder voter registration database
 * 3) Colorado Department of Corrections Felon database
 * 4) Colorado Department of Vital Statistics database

Student voting rights
Please visit the Brennan Center for Justice's Student Voting Project, Colorado for a comprehensive overview of student voting rights, ID requirements, residency requirements and other student voting issues.

2008 election
For the 2008 election Colorado used the following voting machines in addition to hand-counted paper ballots in some counties. For a county-by-county list of the specific machines (and the source for this section) see Verified Votings' Verifier tool.

Direct-Recording Electronic (DRE) machines with a paper trail:


 * Election Systems & Software's iVotronic voting machine.
 * Hart InterCivic's eSlate voting machine.
 * Premier Election Solutions's (Diebold) AccuVote-TSX voting machine.

Optical scan machines:


 * Election Systems & Software's Model 100 voting machine.
 * Premier Election Solutions's (Diebold) AccuVote-OS voting machine.

Digital scan machines:


 * Hart InterCivic's eScan voting machine.
 * Hart InterCivic's Ballot Now voting machine.

Governmental election authorities

 * Colorado Secretary of State: Mike Coffman
 * Website: http://www.sos.state.co.us/
 * Elections Division contact information:
 * Elections Division, Colorado Department of State, 1700 Broadway, Suite 270, Denver, CO 80290
 * 303-894-2200 ext. 6307
 * 303-869-4861 (FAX)
 * [mailto:elections@sos.state.co.us elections@sos.state.co.us]


 * County election officials contact information here.

State and local non-governmental election organizations
Coloradoans for Voting Integrity


 * Website: http://www.cfvi.us/


 * Description: Coloradoans For Voting Integrity (CFVI) is a collection of concerned Colorado citizens dedicated to fair, accessible, verifiable and verified voting on the state and national level.

League of Women Voters

LWV of Colorado, Mrs. Marjory Beal, President
 * 1410 Grant Street, #B-204
 * Denver, CO 80203-0000
 * Phone: 303-863-0437
 * Fax: 303-837-9917
 * E-mail: info@lwvcolorado.org
 * http://www.lwvcolorado.org

Local Leagues:
 * Adams County
 * Arapahoe County
 * Archuleta County
 * Boulder County
 * Chaffee County
 * Delta County
 * Denver
 * Estes Park
 * Greeley-Weld County
 * Gunnison Area
 * Jefferson County
 * La Plata County
 * Larimer County
 * Mesa County
 * Montezuma County
 * Montrose County
 * Pikes Peak Region
 * Pueblo
 * Sterling Area

Voter Action's Colorado Information


 * Website: http://www.voteraction.org/states/colorado

Colorado Voter Information:


 * State Leader: Claudia Kuhns, [mailto:claudiakuhns@comcast.net claudiakuhns@comcast.net], Executive Director, The Public Integrity Project. 303.349.7583

External articles
Comprehensive investigative reporting on vote suppression and election protection issues at The Colorado Independent.


 * Thousands of Colorado applicants rejected from voter rolls


 * Is Colorado the next Florida


 * Amid scandal, Colorado is at election storm central. Are we ready?