[Colorado-Talk] Using Colorado's Accessible Electronic Ballot Delivery and Return System

[Curtis Chong]

Using Colorado's
Accessible Ballot
Delivery and Return System


 

By Curtis Chong

 

Starting October 17, 2022, ballots for the November 8 general election will
be mailed out to registered voters in Colorado. For people with
disabilities, those who are blind, and individuals who are unable to mark
the printed mail ballot without assistance, this means that on that date,
Colorado's accessible electronic ballot delivery, marking, and return system
will be open and available to be used. In Colorado, people with disabilities
can obtain and mark their ballots at home using the access technology with
which they are most familiar. People with print disabilities can also return
their ballots electronically.

 


Critical First Step


 

For anyone who wants to use the new electronic ballot return option when
voting, there is a critical first step which must be completed. You need to
take a picture of your Colorado State ID and place it somewhere on your
computer or smartphone where you can easily locate it. If, however, you
prefer to use the system simply to mark your ballot and if you have ready
access to a printer, then you do not need to create a picture of your
Colorado State ID.

 


Accessible Voting Procedure


 

1.      Point your browser to https://myballot.sos.colorado.gov
<https://myballot.sos.colorado.gov/app/home> . You will be taken to the
accessible ballot home page. Find the Vote My Ballot heading and activate
the CONTINUE button which is immediately adjacent to it. This will take you
to the Voter Lookup page.

 

2.      On this Voter Lookup page, you will need to provide your first and
last name, your date of birth, and the county where you are registered to
vote. Once this information has been entered, activate the CONTINUE button.
This will take you to the Ballot Type page.

 

3.      On the Ballot Type page, you will find two radio buttons.

 

.        I am a voter with a disability and am requesting an accessible
ballot

.        This does not apply

 

Activate the first radio button and then activate the CONTINUE button to be
taken to the "Please confirm you are eligible to access this system" page.

 

4.      This page contains a checkbox which you should activate to affirm
that you are a voter with a disability as defined in the Americans with
Disabilities Act. Check the box and then activate the CONTINUE button.

 

5.      This next page asks a question which determines if you are a voter
who is blind, has a print disability, or is otherwise unable, through
physical disability, to hold, mark, or manipulate a ballot or to focus or
move the eyes to the extent that would be normally acceptable for reading or
marking a ballot. If you are blind and want to return your ballot
electronically, activate the Yes radio button. If you want to return your
ballot in the mail and you have a printer, you can respond "No" to this
question. After activating the appropriate Radio Button, activate the
CONTINUE button.

 

6.      On this last voter verification page, you are asked to enter either
your driver's license number (or your Colorado State ID number) or the last
four digits of your Social Security number. You do not need to enter both
pieces of information. After entering your identification information,
activate the CONTINUE button.

 

7.      On the ballot page, each candidate or position is indicated by a
checkbox. Use the space key to check the boxes corresponding to the
candidates or positions for which you want to vote. Once you have completed
marking the ballot, activate the CONTINUE button to go to the Selection
Review page.

 

8.      On the Selection Review page, you have the opportunity to check your
ballot for one last time before moving on to the next phase. There is a
Change button for each contest which, when activated, takes you back to the
ballot page. Once you are satisfied that the ballot is as you want it,
activate the CONTINUE button at the bottom of the page. You will be taken to
the Save or Print Your Ballot page.

 

9.      On this page, you should activate the SAVE OR PRINT YOUR BALLOT
button. If you are activating this button from a Windows computer and if you
want to save your ballot instead of printing it, you should ensure that the
printer selected is the one which is labeled Save as PDF.

If you are using an iPhone or iPad) there is, unfortunately,  one small
point of confusion. After you activate the SAVE OR PRINT YOUR BALLOT button,
you will encounter a Print button but not one which specifically says
Download. You need to tap three times quickly on the Print button (if
running VoiceOver) or tap-and-hold the Print button so that you can save the
PDF file somewhere on your iPhone. If you are taking advantage of electronic
ballot return where your ballot will be uploaded, activate the Save to Files
button and select the location where you would like to store the document.

 

10.    After your ballot is saved or printed, you will be taken back to the
Save or Print Your Ballot page. Activate the CONTINUE button to be taken to
the Download or Print Return Package page.

 

11.    On this page, activate the DOWNLOAD OR PRINT ADDITIONAL MATERIALS
button. Windows users will be prompted with a dialog to save a PDF document.
By default this file will be placed in your default Downloads folder. You
will be able to give it whatever name works for you. For iPhone/iPad users,
however, while you will be prompted to download the package, you will not be
able to give it another name.

 

12.    After the package has been printed or downloaded, activate the
CONTINUE button to go to the next step.

 

13.    If you are going to print your ballot and ballot application
documents instead of downloading them, you are finished. However, if you
downloaded these files to submit them electronically, you should pay
attention to the following instructions.

 

"Thank you for voting, but you're not done!

 

Please follow the instructions provided in the previous pages and in your
additional ballot materials to return your ballot and materials to your
local elections office. If you are returning your ballot and materials
electronically, please return them at Colorado's secure ballot return
website by clicking the "return my ballot" link below."

 

For your information, the "return my ballot" link points to
https://ballotreturn.coloradosos.gov/form/accessible.

 


Uploading Your Ballot and Ballot Application


 

After you have saved your ballot, your ballot application document, and a
picture of your Colorado State ID, you should direct your browser to the
website https://ballotreturn.coloradosos.gov/form/accessible. You will be
taken to the State of Colorado Secure Ballot Return page. You do not have to
perform this part of the voting process immediately after you have finished
marking your ballot. You already have your documents downloaded to your
system. You can treat this as part of the process as something that you can
take up on another day.

 

On the State of Colorado Secure Ballot Return page, screen reader users are,
unfortunately, placed on an edit field where you are asked to enter your
first name. Entering your identification information is, however, one of the
last steps you would perform in this procedure-not the first. Move your
focus to the top of the page and read the information you find there.
Non-mouse users should activate the browse to attach files link to start
uploading the first file. As each file is uploaded successfully, a list will
appear showing the file name and file size. The system allows a maximum of
20 files to be uploaded. Each file should not exceed 5 megabytes in size.
Since you aren't printing anything, you will need to upload three files:

 

.        your voted ballot,

.        your ballot application, and

.        a picture of your state identification card.

 

Once all files have been uploaded, fill in your name, phone number, and
email address, and activate the Submit button.

 


Conclusion


 

If all of this sounds exceedingly complicated or, at the very least,
tedious, I am afraid that there are definitely a lot of steps to perform
here. Such is the way with technology.

 

Voters with disabilities who use this system are urged to contact their
respective county clerks. If history is any guide, you will probably be
referred to the office of Colorado's Secretary of State. If you like, feel
free to call me at 515-306-1654 or drop me an email at
chong.curtis at gmail.com <mailto:chong.curtis at gmail.com> . I will try to be of
help if I can.

 

 

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