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Virtual town hall on Colorado election security

Colorado implements ballot tracking for November's election
Posted at 5:33 AM, Sep 24, 2020
and last updated 2020-09-24 19:39:56-04

COLORADO SPRINGS — As election season nears, a town hall discussing the state's election security took place virtually Thursday morning.

The town hall with President of the Senate Leroy Garcia and Secretary of State Jena Griswold discussed the state's approach to the election, mail-in ballots, and the new tracking system.

Here in Colorado, mail-in ballots are nothing new, with the state considered a national model for how the system can work safely.

The El Paso County Clerk and Recorder, Chuck Broerman, said the state has done 12 elections with our hybrid mail ballot voting system. Plus, he said Colorado is primarily a mail ballot state, with 95 to 98% of all voters using the ballot they receive in the mail.

"Colorado has been moving toward where we're at for many many years... We have a very robust system. We're recognized in the nation as the gold standard when it comes to mail voting," Broerman said.

And for the first time, all Colorado voters will have the option of tracking the status of their mail ballots for the 2020 General Election.

Griswold made the announcement in mid-September, and said voters can receive updates on the status of their ballots by notifications to their phone, email or text. This includes when the ballot packets go out, when it's received back, and when it's accepted for counting.

Griswold said this new program is one of the "many ways that Colorado continually innovates to ensure our elections are the best in the nation.”

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