Garfield County moved to a new web address in March. Find us then at garfieldcountyco.gov. Domains like this are more trusted, because only official governments can use them.

Questions about Colorado Elections

The following includes some commonly asked questions about elections in Colorado.

What happens to undeliverable ballots and what is the chain of custody for undeliverable ballots?

When received from the post office, undeliverable ballots are recorded into the SCORE Voter Registration System/Election Management System. The voter’s record is updated showing that the ballot was received back by the county as undeliverable, and the voter’s status will change to inactive after the election. These voters are sent a notice that their ballot was returned as undeliverable and a confirmation card requesting a response. Per Colorado law, that voter will not receive a ballot packet in the mail for subsequent elections unless they reactivate their voter registration. Those ballot envelopes are then securely stored for 25 months before they are destroyed.

What constitutes an inactive voter and when is an inactive voter no longer mailed a ballot?

A voter’s registration becomes inactive when the county election office receives returned/undeliverable mail from the post office or if a voter submits a change of address that moves them out of state. As stated above, per Colorado law, that voter will not receive a ballot in the mail for subsequent elections unless they reactivate their voter registration.

How do you verify and clean the voter rolls and how often is this done?

The state and counties constantly work on voter registration list maintenance. Counties receive data from the following sources to ensure the voter registration list is accurate.

National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) cancellations – After each election, voter records that are inactive for returned/undeliverable mail ballots are sent a confirmation card by forwardable mail. If the voter returns the confirmation card and informs a county they still live at the same address, their record becomes active. If the voter returns the confirmation card and informs a county, they have moved:

  • To an address in the same county, the county will update their voter registration with the new address.
  • To an address in a different county in Colorado, the voter’s registration will be transferred to the new county.
  • To a new address out of state, their voter registration record in Colorado will be canceled and their new home state will be notified.

If the voter does not return the confirmation card and fails to vote in any election between when the notice is issued and the next two general elections, without contacting the county election office, their voter registration will be canceled.

National Change of Address (NCOA) (monthly) – Information provided by the USPS of citizens that have updated their residential or mailing addresses within Colorado is used to update voter records and send correspondence. Voters that have provided addresses outside of Colorado will be made inactive and be sent correspondence.

Election Registration Information Center (ERIC) (monthly) – The center analyzes voter registration and driver’s license records from member states, along with death data from the Social Security Administration, and National Change of Address (NCOA) data from the United States Post Office to provide member states with reports detailing people who may have moved, are deceased, who may be registered to vote in more than one state, and who may have voted multiple times in the same election.

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) (monthly) – HAVA requires election officials to verify identification numbers provided on voter registration applications and this is done automatically.

Colorado Department of Health & Environment (CDPHE) (monthly) – The department provides a list of deaths within Colorado compared to voter records that can be used to cancel the voter’s record when minimum matching criteria is met. Minimum matching criteria must include name, date of birth and one of the following driver’s license, Social Security number, and address.

Colorado Department of Corrections (CDOC) – The department provides a list of felony incarcerations within Colorado compared to voter records that can be used to cancel the voter’s record when minimum matching criteria is met. Minimum matching criteria may include name, date of birth, driver’s license, ssn, and address.

Voter merge – Lists from the state of possible duplicate records for voters and information found during daily data entry is used to identify possible voters with multiple records and to consolidate those records. Additional information provided by the voter at the DMV is used to merge the records.

Information sent from other states – Shows new registrants with former addresses in Colorado may be used to cancel an elector’s Colorado voter registration if minimum matching criteria is met.

Obituaries, death certificates, or other information – Provided with an affidavit form, family members file that an elector has passed away may be used to cancel a Colorado voter registration if minimum matching criteria is met.

Same-day voter registration (each election) – Same-day voter registration allows voters who have moved to provide updated address information at the point of voting. The vast majority of same day voter registrations are voters updating their voter registration record.

Automatic voter registration (daily) – Automatic voter registration occurs when a U.S. citizen is receiving or updating their Colorado driver’s license or Colorado identification card. The voter is registered, or their voter registration record is updated with accurate, up-to-date information.

How are elections audited?

Elections are audited in multiple ways:

  • Risk Limiting Audit
  • Ballot Reconciliation Audit
  • Signature Verification Audit
  • Election night reporting verification

How do you assure the people of Garfield County that tabulating machines are accurate?

Open communication and transparency are key to assuring the people and voters of Garfield County that all processes (tabulating machines) of our elections have multiple security and safe guards in place and are accurate.

There are multiple steps taken to ensure that the voting system is tabulating ballots correctly and that the outcomes are correct.

  • The voting system goes through an extensive certification program before ever being used in Colorado.
  • The county completes logic and accuracy testing to ensure the election has been programmed correctly and that ballots are counted accurately. This process is observable by watchers. Counties also do a public logic and accuracy test that is open to the public and conducted by a test board appointed by the two major political parties.
  • After each election, counties in Colorado are required to conduct a Risk Limiting Audit (RLA). This audit is conducted by an audit board, whose members are chosen by the two major political parties in the county. They compare the voter-marked ballot to the cast vote record from the voting system. Ballots to be audited are chosen randomly. To learn more about the risk-limiting audit, see the Colorado Secretary of State’s FAQs on the RLA.

How do you assure the people of Garfield County that the tabulating machine totals cannot be manipulated?

Communication. The voter is invited to come to the office and observe and when applicable participate in the election processes.

  • Voting System Certification
  • Trusted-build process
  • County access controls
  • Camera coverage
  • Chain of custody process
  • Background checks
  • Logic and Accuracy Testing
  • Risk Limiting Audit
  • Colorado Open Records Act (CORA)