Colorado
Ballot Security
What Politicians Say
The state’s Republican voters rejected election deniers who were on the ballot in the July primary, including Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who ran unsuccessfully for the secretary of state nomination.
After the 2020 election, Peters tweeted baseless claims of widespread election fraud and appeared at a symposium sponsored by MyPillow Inc Chief Executive Officer Mike Lindell, who spread conspiracy theories about voting.
Confidential information about Mesa County voting machines was later posted on far-right wing websites, and Peters and Deputy Clerk Belinda Knisley were indicted on charges of allegedly tampering with voting equipment.
Peters lost to longtime elections official Pam Anderson, who faces incumbent Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold in November.
In response to the allegations against Peters, Democratic Governor Jared Polis signed legislation that bars local elections administrators from making copies of voter data without state approval and technical oversight.
Ease of Voting
Another 2021 law establishes a multilingual voting hotline and requires certain counties to provide ballots in multiple languages. It also allows Coloradans to register to vote online using the last four digits of their Social Security number.
New laws passed in 2022 also bar people from openly carrying guns into a polling place and make it illegal to threaten an elections administrator or post their personal information online.
Ballot Security
A 2021 law allows disabled voters to return ballots electronically, which the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine says is “fundamentally insecure.”
How Politicians Responded to the 2020 Election
Two of Colorado’s three Republican US representatives objected to the certification of Biden electors from Arizona and Pennsylvania. Two also signed an amicus brief asking the Supreme Court to intervene.