Colorado: In move to upgrade all machines statewide, new voting machines will be tested next month | Associated Press

Amid national anxiety about aging voting machines, Colorado elections officials are testing four types of new machines in elections next month as they move toward upgrades statewide. The Secretary of State plans to certify one new voting machine next year, putting the state on track to move away from a patchwork of voting machines to a single system. “Much of our equipment in Colorado is old,” Wayne Williams said Monday. “A lot of our systems are so old that they’re based on Microsoft systems that Microsoft no longer supports.” Next month’s off-year election is being used a test run for four different types of machines. Each will be used in a large Front Range county and a smaller rural county. The test counties are Adams, Denver, Douglas, Garfield, Gilpin, Jefferson, Mesa and Teller. The upgrades to newer machines will cost about $10 million to $15 million, with counties picking up the tab. A voting machine will be chosen by 2016, with counties free to upgrade whenever they’re ready.

Colorado: Jefferson County recall ballot timeline draws concerns from Colorado Secretary of State | The Denver Post

Colorado’s secretary of state has concerns about how Jefferson County will pull off having a recall election on the regular November election ballot. After Jefferson County Clerk Faye Griffin announced Thursday that the recall of three school board members would be placed on the general election ballot Nov. 3, Secretary of State Wayne Williams sent a letter asking for more details. “Your limited window for setting the recall election date presents challenges no matter which date you choose,” Williams wrote. “Because of this timeline you will need near-optimal circumstances to place both recall and coordinated content on the same ballot and meet the ballot-mailing deadline for the coordinated election.”

Colorado: Adams County looks to improve vote-counting after difficult election | The Denver Post

Newly sworn Adams County Clerk Stan Martin is determined to avoid the problems and embarassment his office experienced in November, when the county was the last in the state to report its election results. The indecision about the victor in Adams County’s closely contested Senate District 24 race led to three tortured days of speculation over which party had secured control of the state Senate. “Any time you’re feeding ballots one at a time through a scanner and you’ve got 127,000 ballots to put through, you’re going to have problems,” Martin said of the voting machines the county uses.

Colorado: Republicans cancel presidential vote at 2016 caucus | The Denver Post

Colorado will not vote for a Republican candidate for president at its 2016 caucus after party leaders approved a little-noticed shift that may diminish the state’s clout in the most open nomination contest in the modern era. The GOP executive committee voted Friday to cancel the traditional presidential preference poll after the national party changed its rules to require a state’s delegates to support the candidate that wins the caucus vote. The move makes Colorado the only state so far to forfeit a role in the early nomination process, according to political experts, but other caucus states are still considering how to adapt to the new rule.

Colorado: Williams changes election rules | Colorado Springs Independent

Secretary of State Wayne Williams is setting new ground rules for Colorado elections. “We are making careful preparations for the 2016 election cycle in order to ensure Colorado sets the standard for access and integrity,” Williams stated in a press release. The changes include the establishment of a Bipartisan Election Advisory Committee that will work to ensure that elections are accessible and fair. The new rules also aim to up security for third-party personal delivery of ballots and clarify the appointment of election watchers. Military members and civilians who are overseas have been allowed to turn in ballots electronically if the area they are in has unreliable mail service. Under the new rules, electronic voting will only be allowed if there is no other feasible way to get a ballot in on time, and the electronic voter will need to sign an affirmation stating that they understand that rule.

Colorado: The high risk of e-voting | The Denver Post

If we can bank and shop online, why can’t we also vote online? This once-common refrain — I certainly used to ask the question — has been answered in recent years by revelations that hackers have penetrated some of our largest financial institutions, retailers, entertainment studios and, of course, the federal government. We can do our banking and shopping online because, as Lawrence Livermore computer scientist David Jefferson said earlier this year, “Financial losses in e-commerce can be insured or absorbed, but no such amelioration is possible in an election. And, of course, the stakes are generally much higher in a public election than in an e-commerce system.” Jefferson’s view that online voting — and especially e-mail — is extremely vulnerable to being hacked, intercepted or manipulated is shared by many experts, including those at the National Institute of Standards and Technology and the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

Colorado: Smartphone voting isn’t ready | The Durango Herald

Technology isn’t yet ready to allow voting on your smartphone, Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams said Tuesday during a visit to Durango. “Right now, the technology isn’t sufficiently secure for that,” he said during an interview with The Durango Herald’s editorial board. In commercial applications, Williams said, “There are security breaches occasionally. We’re just not there yet.”

Colorado: Senate GOP kills party’s own push for 2016 presidential primary | DEnver Post

An apparent disagreement among Republicans led a Senate panel Monday to reject the party’s own push to create a presidential primary in 2016. The surprising move, in the final three days of the Colorado legislative session, left a cloud of confusion and hurts the state’s ability to draw a bigger spotlight in the much-watched contest for the White House. Sen. Jesse Ulibarri, one of the Democratic sponsors, said he had “no clue” what happened. “This is one of those where I walked away scratching my head,” the Westminster lawmaker said.

Colorado: Bid for a presidential primary costs $1.7 million | Denver Post

Colorado’s bid to boost its national profile and create a presidential primary will cost $1.7 million, according to a new legislative analysis. But who will pay for the extra election remains unclear. The newly filed bill doesn’t specify. Right now, the Colorado Secretary of State pays for elections from money it collects from filing fees — a method being challenged in the courts, in fact. To cover the $1.7 million price tag, Secretary Wayne Williams would need to increase fees against businesses and charities who file documents with his office.

Colorado: To Primary or to Caucus? | Pacific Standard

Colorado legislators are considering holding a presidential primary in 2016, even though the state has been holding caucuses for the past few presidential cycles. This is actually a pretty big deal—very different people show up for these different events, and very different candidates tend to win them. Primaries are how most state parties seek to nominate presidents, and indeed it’s how party nominations for most offices are made in this country. That’s how most Americans think of the presidential party nomination process: The candidates campaign, and party voters all show up on one day to cast a secret ballot, just as they would in a general election.

Colorado: Wayne Williams a contrast to former Secretary of State | The Colorado Statesman

Three months after being sworn in, Secretary of State Wayne Williams has mostly stayed out of the news, and that’s the way he likes it. It’s a marked contrast from Williams’s predecessor, fellow Republican Scott Gessler, an election law attorney who embraced the nickname “honey badger,” a varmint known for the relentlessness of its attack. Where Gessler seemingly courted controversy — and was the target of one complaint after another from Democrats — Williams is taking a more conciliatory approach, working closely with county clerks across the state and stressing his office’s mission providing services to voters, businesses and nonprofit groups. “The role, once you’re in there, isn’t about which party you’re in, it’s how you serve the citizens,” Williams said in an interview with The Colorado Statesman. “There are some things I might do differently than another individual, but I try to work very hard to make sure this government office operates the way we would if we were trying to attract customers.”

Colorado: Denver election officials blame vendor for ballot due date mix-up | The Denver Post

The Denver Elections Division fielded calls Wednesday from voters confused about a ballot envelope misprint but said replacement materials weren’t needed. The error, discovered as ballots for the May 5 municipal election began hitting mailboxes Tuesday, occurs on the return envelope’s flap and lists 7 p.m. June 2 as the time ballots must be returned. June 2 is the date for any potential run-off elections. City election officials blamed a vendor and subcontractor for an error that might have been as simple as inserting the wrong election’s printing plate into a machine when some envelopes were printed. It still wasn’t clear how many were affected.

Colorado: Internet voting in Colorado: What could go wrong? | Communities Digital News

On November 24, 2014 widely reported stories told of Sony Pictures being hacked, resulting in the loss of an incredible amount of intellectual property. Then last month, a massive cyberattack hacked Anthem Blue Cross, leading to a breach of over 11 million customers’ personal information. Now, with the end of the session less than four weeks away, legislators in Colorado—both Democrat and Republican—are working on a bill that could expand the use of internet voting, claiming that it is safe and secure. The bill, known as House Bill 15-1130, would mark the third year in a row that the legislature has tried to overhaul elections in Colorado. Each bill has been worse than the last. In the 2013 session, the Democrat-controlled legislature passed a bill that contained mandatory all mail-in ballots, same day voter registration and reduced residency requirements for any state-wide election. In 2014, they extended these bad ideas to local elections.

Colorado: Imbroglio embroils election bill | The Colorado Statesman

The Legislature could be on the verge of approving sweeping changes to the way most municipalities conduct elections in the state, but not until a lawmaker intends to introduce last-minute changes before the final Senate vote on the legislation. As it’s written, the bill, HB 1130, would allow military and overseas voters in Colorado municipal elections the same opportunity to return ballots using so-called electronic transmission — via fax machines and email — as the same voters have been able to do for years in county, state and federal elections, among other changes to municipal elections law. But a flurry of protests that have reached a fever pitch this week claim that the bill’s language would open the door to all manner of online voting, including posting ballots to Twitter or texting votes to election clerks. What’s more, the bill’s critics charge, clerks in small towns aren’t equipped to verify emailed ballots, which they contend can easily be hacked, spoofed or diverted.

Colorado: Overseas voting bill advances | The Pueblo Chieftain

A new state law that would extend to cities the absentee voter system currently in place for military overseas who want to vote in state and federal elections, passed committee on Wednesday. State Sen. Leroy Garcia, D-Pueblo, said the bill passed through the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee unanimously and will go to the Senate floor next. There’s no fiscal impact to the state and Garcia said he isn’t sure when the Senate will take up the bill. Garcia said the bill will help extend some deadlines for municipal elections so ballots can be mailed to military personnel and state department employees overseas who want to participate in local elections.

Colorado: Gessler voter sting nets 1 conviction despite accusation of widespread fraud | Aurora Sentinel

An Arapahoe County judge last month sentenced an Aurora man to probation for falsely registering to vote — marking the lone conviction in a 2013 voter fraud investigation that identified more than 100 suspects. Vitaliy B. Grabchenko, 49, pleaded guilty to procuring false registration, a misdemeanor, on Feb. 24. Arapahoe County Judge Addison Adams gave Grabchenko a two-year deferred sentence and ordered him to complete 48 hours of community service. He will also be on supervised probation for two years. Grabchenko, a Polish national, was one of four people charged in 2013 as part of a large-scale and controversial voter fraud investigation launched by former Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler. Gessler had identified more than 100 people he said illegally voted, but the four charged in Arapahoe County were the only people in Colorado to face charges.

Colorado: Voter ID bills struck down | The Durango Herald

Colorado lawmakers Wednesday once again took up the issue of photo identification as a requirement to vote, killing two measures that would have mandated the practice. The Republican-backed measures were killed by the Democratic-controlled House State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee on party-line votes. Similar attempts in recent years at the Legislature also failed. Both bills Wednesday addressed same-day voter registration, enacted by a Democratic-backed measure in 2013 that made sweeping reforms to the state’s election laws, including allowing voters to register on Election Day. One of the bills Wednesday was sponsored by Rep. Don Coram, R-Montrose. His idea with the legislation was to send the question to Colorado voters, pointing to a Magellan Strategies poll that indicated 72 percent of voters support photo ID as a condition of same-day voter registration.

Colorado: Secretary Of State Admits Voting Restrictions Stop Eligible Voters, Pushes Them Anyway | ThinkProgress

The state with some of the most accessible elections laws in the nation could soon make it more difficult to cast a ballot. Colorado lawmakers began debating a bill Wednesday that would require voters to present a photo ID if they register to vote on Election Day — a policy that would disproportionately impact people who are younger, lower income, non-white, and newly naturalized. While attending a recent conference in DC, Secretary of State Wayne Williams told ThinkProgress that he supports these measures despite the fact that investigations by his predecessor found voter fraud to be nearly non-existent in the state. “Most people don’t rob banks but we still protect against bank robbery,” he said. “Most people vote honestly but we did have some instances — for example, one individual submitted five separate voter registration forms with sequential Social Security numbers. The overwhelming majority of people don’t do that, but we need to have the protections in place to ensure all of us can have confidence in our elections.”

Colorado: Despite criticism, few efforts to change mail ballot law | The Denver Post

Before last fall’s election, Colorado’s new mail-ballot election system was viewed with suspicion in conservative media channels as rife for corruption, inconvenience and higher costs. But one-third of the way through the legislative session that has more Republicans in the House and a new GOP-controlled Senate, little has been proposed to remedy those concerns. The 2013 law provided a mail ballot to every registered voter, including those formerly considered inactive because they hadn’t cast a ballot in a while. A report by the Colorado Voter Access and Modernized Elections Commission that examined the new law’s performance is due Tuesday, but it isn’t expected to cite major flaws or offer significant proposals for change, according to commission members.

Colorado: Voter ID bills scheduled for committee hearings | Colorado Public Radio

Lawmakers at the state Capitol will consider Wednesday whether people registering to vote close to Election Day should have to show a photo ID. Two bills on the policy have committee hearings scheduled. One measure would require people to show a photo ID when registering in the weeks leading up to an election. The other would put the same policy up for a statewide vote next year. When we interviewed the new Secretary of State, Wayne Williams, earlier this year, he said this type of voter ID law was part of his agenda. Specifically he wants photo ID for Election Day registration.

Colorado: More workers, training helped avoid delays in voting, registrars say | Journal Inquirer

Changes made by the registrars of voters after problems with long lines in the 2012 election successfully addressed problems, the registrars reported recently. There were “no major issues” in November’s voting, registrars said. Two years ago, the registrars office came under fire for not being prepared for the last presidential election when voters were forced to wait in line for hours.
That was the first election after 10 precincts had been consolidated into eight, with polling places at Washington and Nathan Hale schools dropped to reflect shifting legislative district boundaries.

Colorado: Adams County ballot troubles could wind up in court | The Denver Post

Adams County is coming under increasing scrutiny — including the prospect of a legal challenge in court — after County Clerk Karen Long did not disclose that nearly 200,000 ballots in the November election could be traced back to individual voters. Gary Mikes, chairman of the Adams County Republicans, said Long should have come forward about the erroneously marked ballots six weeks ago, when she first detected the problem in late October. Long did not notify the secretary of state’s office of the error until Dec. 9, and issued a news release the next day. “It was her responsibility to inform everybody when she found that out,” Mikes said.

Colorado: Still Counting Votes in Colorado | Wall Street Journal

It’s a week after Election Day and they’re still counting votes in Colorado, where some are blaming a new state law that replaced polling booths with mandatory mail-in ballots. Top-ticket races have been decided—Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper was re-elected and Republican Cory Gardner unseated Democratic Sen. Mark Udall—but the vote totals in a dozen state House and Senate races remain unknown. Democrats currently have a 37-28 majority in the House and are expected to keep it. But they did lose the Senate, where the Republicans will hold an 18-17 edge after being in the minority for a decade. And although those outcomes are unlikely to change once all the votes are counted, there is frustration with the new process, especially among the grass-roots.

Colorado: Mail-In Voting Gets Early Test | Wall Street Journal

A new election system using all mail-in ballots faces an immediate test in Colorado, with tight Senate, House and gubernatorial races that are being closely watched nationally. Hoping to boost turnout, the Democrat-led legislature here passed a law a year ago requiring Colorado to use mail-in ballots in virtually all elections. Some Republicans, including the secretary of state, have voiced concern about mandating the system statewide, saying that relying so heavily on the postal service could cause problems, especially for rural voters. Democrats have said that the two other states with all-mail elections, Washington and Oregon, have experienced few problems. Colorado voters can still drop off ballots at designated voting centers. They can also fill out a ballot at the centers and even register there on Election Day. But the idea is for most ballots to be mailed in. County clerks have to receive a ballot by 7 p.m. on Tuesday for it to count. A ballot postmarked but not received by that time isn’t valid. “The reason we did this was just to modernize our system and make it easier for people to vote and stay in the process,” said the state House majority leader, Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, a Democrat from Boulder. “You have a lot of people who have a very difficult time just showing up on Election Day and casting their ballot.”

Colorado: Despite attention, Colorado voter fraud remains rare, say clerks | The Denver Post

This campaign season, Colorado’s new mail-ballot voter law has drawn the national sideshow attention of cable news and opinion, AM radio and even a sting by conservative provocateur James O’Keefe — all focused on the notion that Tuesday’s outcome could be tainted. But perception hasn’t been reality, according to election officials on both sides of the deep political divide who report only a routine percentage of challenged signatures, undeliverable ballots and reports of alleged shenanigans. Mesa County Clerk Sheila Reiner said the lack of actual trouble is largely because voting by mail is nothing new. It’s been an option for Colorado voters since 1992. And in the 2012 general election, 73 percent of Coloradans cast mail ballots. “What’s different is we have a party that’s made allegations of fraud part of its platform,” Reiner, a Republican who is president of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said of some members of her party.

Colorado: Campaigns scramble with new Colorado election laws | Associated Press

Democrats and Republicans battling in close contests for the governor’s office and U.S. Senate in Colorado are wading into new territory with the advent of Election-Day voter registration and ballots being mailed to every registered elector. The changes passed by Democrats who control the Colorado Legislature mean campaigns are making their final arguments to voters weeks in advance of Nov. 4, and they’re sprinting to the very end to get every possible voter registered and voting. It has also prompted concerns from Republicans about greater chances for voter fraud — a worry that Democrats don’t share. Already, 518,610 people have voted since ballots were mailed early last week. Last year, in an election with only two statewide ballot measures, there were 1.4 million votes. In the 2012 presidential year, nearly 2.6 million people voted. At the current pace this year, a big portion of the Colorado vote will likely be in before Nov. 4.

Colorado: In First All-Mail Election, Voters Are Being Hassled Like Never Before | Huffington Post

“The sooner you get it in, the sooner they stop calling you.” That’s what Kristyne Brenner, a resident of the Denver suburb of Greenwood Village, described as the only way to cease the incessant calling from the campaigns of Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and his Republican challenger, Rep. Cory Gardner. The already high-stakes Senate contest between Udall and Gardner has gained an added element of uncertainty because this year, every registered Colorado voter has received a ballot by mail. And to the chagrin of voters like Brenner, both campaigns are going all-out to make sure no one forgets to send in their ballot. Colorado’s nearly three million registered voters began receiving ballots on Oct. 14. Campaigns can track which voters have not yet returned their ballots, as well as who hasn’t registered at all. As a result, residents have experienced a significant amount of harassment from campaigns. This will likely continue through Nov. 4, since people can also register on Election Day and vote in person. (Voters can also register online and receive a ballot in the mail until Oct. 27.) The seemingly nonstop calls from campaigns have aggravated Brenner’s frustration with a race that she already considered too polarized and negative. “I’m pretty much over it,” she grumbled as she tossed back popcorn kernels while taking a break from shopping at Denver’s upscale Cherry Creek mall. Based on a number of interviews conducted by The Huffington Post, Brenner’s annoyance seems to be a universal emotion in the highly-targeted Denver suburbs.

Colorado: Boulder County’s mail-in ballots include 1-cent postage error | Boulder Daily Camera

Boulder County voters electing to mail in ballots this election might come up 1 cent short on postage. Voter instructions for returning ballots say the cost of postage for county residents who received two-sheet ballots in the secrecy sleeve will cost 69 cents — the 49 cents for a stamp plus the cost of an additional ounce. However, in January the U.S. Postal Service raised the cost of an additional ounce to 21 cents, meaning postage for a two-sheet ballot and secrecy sleeve would actually cost 70 cents. Voters should rest assured their ballots will be delivered with no problem however, Boulder County Clerk and Recorder’s Office spokeswoman Mircalla Wozniak said in an email Monday.

Colorado: State readies for inaugural vote-by-mail general election | KRDO

Election Day less than a month away and changes await Colorado voters. This November marks the first time a general election in the Centennial State will be all vote-by-mail. “All I know is I get something in the mail and I fill it out and send back in,” Colorado Springs voter Amanda Martinez said. “This is my first year voting.” “Before you used to have to opt in to get a mail ballot,” Ryan Parsell with the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder’s Office said. “Well, now everybody is opted in. As long as your registration is current, you should get a mail ballot around the middle of October.”

Colorado: With a win on the line in Colorado, Democrats hope to mail it in | The Washington Post

Here in the Senate battleground of Colorado, the latest front in the voting wars is  the mailbox. In other states, that fight has generally centered on laws that opponents say restrict voter access – measures, largely passed by Republican legislatures, that require voter identification or reduce the number of days for early voting. But Colorado is  operating under a new system designed to do the opposite: For the first time this year, every registered voter will get a ballot delivered to them through the mail, weeks before Nov. 4. The 2014 midterm elections are the first statewide contests since the Democratic-controlled Colorado legislature, voted last year to make it easier to cast a ballot. The law allows residents who neglect to register in advance to sign up on Election Day itself. And it instituted all-mail elections, with ballots going out statewide 22 days before Election Day. So Election Day, in essence, has officially become Election Month – a development that has spurred strategists on both sides to craft the biggest midterm turnout operations in state history, a high-stakes race to find and identify every possible voter