[Colorado-Talk] Accessible Voting in the March 3 Primary Election

[Curtis Chong]

Greetings everyone:

 

THIS EMAIL IS LIABLE TO BE A BIT LONG, DETAILED, AND CHOCK FULL OF
INFORMATION.

 

If you want to vote in Colorado's March 3 (super Tuesday) primary election
and if you plan to use Colorado's online accessible ballot marking system,
you will want to read the rest of this email. If none of what I have said so
far is of interest to you, then go ahead and delete this. You won't hurt my
feelings<smile>.

 

__________________________________________________

 

On March 3 (Super Tuesday), Colorado will be holding a statewide
presidential primary election which will determine the presidential nominees
for each political party. The printed ballots for this election are
scheduled to be mailed out on Monday, February 10. On February 10, any
registered voter in Colorado who has a disability as defined by the
Americans with Disabilities Act (blindness qualifies) will be able to
retrieve a ballot, mark the ballot online, print both the ballot and the
voter application, and sign the voter application. The ballot and signed
application are then mailed together to the voter's county clerk or dropped
off at an authorized drop box or polling facility. You will need a computer,
tablet, or smart phone; access to the Internet; and a printer that can be
reached from the computer, tablet, or smart phone.

 

1.         You should point your browser to
https://myballot.sos.colorado.gov. From this page, you can choose to vote a
ballot or view your sample ballot. If you are an uncommitted voter (i.e., no
party affiliation), you will be able to choose a Democratic or a Republican
ballot.

 

2.         To vote a ballot, you need to supply the following verification
information:

 

A.        Your first and last name,

B.        Your date of birth,

C.        Your county, and

D.        Your State ID number or the last four digits of your Social
Security Number.

 

3.         Immediately after you have been verified, the ballot is presented
on screen. You can then mark the ballot and ensure that all of the choices
are correct using your screen reader.

 

4.         Once the ballot has been marked and verified, the system will
prompt you to print both the ballot and a ballot application form. The
application form will already have been filled out by the system prior to
printing. You must sign the application in the blank area at the bottom of
the application page. If you forget this important step, your ballot will be
rejected. If you cannot see the print on the page at all, you can be assured
that the bottom half of the application page is blank. This is where you can
place your signature.

 

5.         You should place both the ballot and the printed application in
an envelope, write "Official Ballot enclosed" on the envelope beneath the
delivery address, and return the envelope to your county clerk either at a
drop box, a voter service and polling center, or through the mail. It is
important that you include the signed application with your ballot; this is
the only way that your county clerk will be able to validate your ballot.

You can insert the ballot and ballot application into the return envelope
that you received in the mail as a part of the regular ballot mailing
process, but if you do this, you must be sure to sign your name on the left
side of the back of the ballot return envelope.

 

6.         You can visit the website www.govotecolorado.com to update your
voter registration information; this information needs to be current in
order to access the online ballot marking system. You can also visit this
website to find the nearest voter service and polling center and drop box or
to check on the status of your ballot.

 

7.         Finally, if you want to know how to get in touch with your county
clerk, you can download a PDF file containing the complete Roster of County
Clerks and Recorders at this link:
https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/elections/Resources/files/CountyClerkRoster
Website.pdf. This file is accessible to screen reading technology for the
blind.

 

Happy voting!

 

Cordially,

 

Curtis Chong

 

 

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