Joint Statement from the Boulder County Clerk & Recorder Hillary Hall and the Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty

This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.

Key Reminders to Voters

Elections in Colorado are conducted by mail with Voter Service and Polling Centers available for those who would like additional assistance with voting or who prefer to vote in person. Now that all active registered voters have been mailed a ballot, the office of the Clerk and Recorder in conjunction with the Boulder District Attorney’s office would like to offer these key legal reminders to voters:

• Signing another person’s ballot envelope is a crime. You may only sign your own ballot envelope. Signing your spouse, child, roommate, etc. ballot envelope is strictly prohibited. All ballot envelopes are signature verified against the signature on your voter registration record. Please contact the Clerk & Recorder’s office if there is an emergency voting situation rather than signing a ballot envelope that is not your own. Do not take the legal risk nor prevent someone’s ballot from being counted because of your actions.
• Voting a ballot that is not your own is a crime. If for any reason you receive a ballot that is not your own, discard the ballot or return it to our office. If the person is recently deceased, mark that on the unopened envelope and return it to our office.
• Attempting to vote more than once is a crime. The Colorado voting model is extremely advanced. Once someone has voted, that information is recorded in the statewide Secretary of State database and prevents a second ballot being cast or counted.
• Sign-up for Ballot Track or watch your mail closely (even after the election). If for any reason the Elections Division cannot match your signature to the signature on record for you or if you fail to sign your ballot envelope, you will be sent a letter in the mail notifying you that you have until 8 days after the election (by Wednesday, Nov 14) to verify that the returned ballot is in fact your voted ballot. To receive a notification of this type of discrepancy sooner, you may sign-up for Ballot Track, which would send you a message via text, email, or phone even sooner than you would receive the letter in the mail. Sign up is available at BoulderCountyVotes.org.

Any occurrences of voters attempting to vote twice or any signatures discrepancies that have not been cleared up by the voter in question are turned over to the District Attorney’s office for investigation of possible voter fraud. While Boulder County has not had any cases of voter fraud, having to investigate cases consumes taxpayer dollars. Thus, as a key reminder, any voter who receives a notice by mail or through Ballot Track about any discrepancy or problem with their ballot envelope, must contact the Elections Division as soon as possible, even if the election has concluded and there are no close races. All cases not responded to are turned over to the District Attorney for investigation.

This also serves as a great reminder to sign your ballot envelope as you normally sign your signature and to return your voted ballot envelope early so that if there is any discrepancy with your signature, you will have more than sufficient time to address the issue. Additionally, the last day to request a replacement ballot be mailed to you is Monday, October 29. You can also visit a Voter Service and Polling Center to vote in-person or receive a replacement ballot.

If there is an emergency situation after October 29, please contact our office. There are provisions in law to assist with emergency ballot delivery in certain cases.

If you have additional questions, please contact the Elections Division at 303-413-7740 or the District Attorney office at 303-441-3700.