Election Information, Key Dates, and Frequently Asked Questions

Election Alert Hotline

Boulder County Elections is requesting that anyone who sees a concerning incident regarding elections misinformation, intimidation, or voting issues to get in touch with our office and law enforcement as soon as possible. If you believe there is an immediate danger, please call 911.

Our contact information to report any misinformation/intimidation/voting issue is: ElectionAlert@bouldercounty.org or by calling 720-729-7667 (leave message with details and a staff member will follow up quickly)

Additionally, we also ask for your help that if if you see a social media post with something concerning, please get in touch with our office. Collect as many details as you can (e.g., screenshots, date/time/location – social media channel/web page – etc.) and provide your name and phone number when you contact us. We must collect the necessary information in order to follow up on reports. We also report any verified information or misinformation to the Colorado Secretary of State’s office for potential further investigation.

Misinformation and unsubstantiated claims about voting can cause undue panic. We need the community’s help in this effort.

Both local county clerks and the Colorado Secretary of State’s office take any interference with voting very seriously. For more information, please see the Secretary of State’s press release on the launch of their Misinformation Initiative.

Note: These instructions are also included in your mail ballot packet.

• If you make a mistake on your ballot, it is recommended that you request a replacement.
• If there is insufficient time to request a replacement ballot, then change or correct a selection by:
  • Fill in the oval of your choice
  • Draw a line through the choice you did not mean to choose

No. Voting is not a test. You can vote on as many or as few contests as you feel comfortable.

We encourage voters to vote when they are ready but voting early does help! For the voter, campaign phone calls and text messages tend to slow down or stop shortly after you have returned your ballot. Additionally, if on the off chance you forget to sign your ballot envelope or we cannot verify your signature, voting early will give you ample time to receive notification (a letter from our office and/or email and text) with instructions to rectify the issue so your ballot can be counted. For the Elections Division, voting early helps our office process ballots over a longer period, which leads to a more complete set of results on election night.

You will need one first class stamp (Forever stamp) if your ballot is one page long. If it has two pages, you will need two first class stamps.

We recommend you mail your ballot no later than 8 days before Election Day. Your ballot must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day. Postmarks do not count. If it is too late to mail your ballot, please use a 24-hour drop box instead.

There has been a great deal of election misinformation in the national news over the past few years. Despite negative claims about mail-ballot voting, the Colorado mail-ballot model (with in-person voting options) is a proven and secure way to cast your vote. We have had exceedingly low rates of fraud in Colorado: only nine cases out of millions of votes cast since 2005 – and none in Boulder County – according to the Heritage Foundation.

We highly encourage you to check out our recently published an Election Security Community Briefing, which aims to show our voters exactly how we ensure the security of their vote and voter information. In addition, we have a variety of resources on our Ballot Processing and Election Security page (including a series of short videos!).

If you have further questions, we ask that you contact us directly rather than relying on potentially misleading information from other sources. We are here to help!

Election results begin posting at 7 p.m. on Election Night. The first set of results typically include the bulk of votes from mail ballots turned in through Monday afternoon. The next set is typically results through Tuesday morning and so on. We typically post 3 times on Election Night. Given the likely historical turnout expected, we will likely be processing ballots for at least 2-3 days after Election Day. (Hint: help us out by voting early, if possible!)

We ask voters to wait at least one week from the time ballots are mailed before contacting us for a replacement mail ballot.

Before calling to request a replacement mail ballot, we recommend that you check your voter registration record to make sure your ballot has been mailed and that it was mailed to the correct address. If you update your address, this will automatically trigger a new ballot to be mailed to you (and the old one will be voided). To receive a ballot by mail, make sure you register/update your address at least 8 days prior to election day. After this date, you’ll need to visit a Vote Center or request a Ballot-to-Go.

Depending on how frequently you vote, we may have many signatures on file to compare with your ballot envelope signature. Our bi-partisan signature verification election judges all have specialized training and have access to all the signatures we may have on file for you.

However, to decrease the chance of problems with verifying your signature, it’s important that you sign your name as you normally would on documents. If the signature on your returned mail ballot doesn’t match the signature(s) we have on file, we will initially reject your signature and you will be given a chance to “cure” your signature so that your ballot can be counted. You’ll receive a letter with instructions (and possibly an email/text if you provided this info in your voter registration). You’ll have up to 8 days after the election to take care of the issue in order for your ballot to be counted.

Yes, but you will need to take action to “cure” your signature so your ballot can be counted. If your signature is initially rejected or found to be missing, our office will send you a letter within 2-3 days of the issue being discovered. We will also send you an email, if we have one on file, and if you’ve signed up for Ballot Track, that system will notify you as well.

The letter you receive will contain instructions for “curing” your signature. This includes completing and signing the enclosed paper form and returning it (via email, mail, or in-person) to our office along with a copy/picture of your valid photo ID. The State of Colorado also offers “Text to Cure” or “TXT2Cure” – that allows you to complete the curing process on your smartphone (look for instructions in the rejection notice).

Voters with signature discrepancies/missing signatures have up to 8 days after the election to “cure” their signature so their ballot can be counted. If you receive notification from our office that your signature is missing or initially rejected, it is very important that you take the action requested in a timely manner. Your vote matters to every race on the ballot, and you will not receive credit for voting if you do not cure your signature.

Statewide, all counties are required to send a voter a letter if there is a signature discrepancy or missing signature. This letter goes out in the mail within 2-3 days of the identification of the signature discrepancy or missing signature. In Boulder County, we also send the voter an email, if we have one on file and additionally, our Ballot Track system notifies them to contact us. But, for peace of mind, a voter can always check online at www.GoVoteColorado.gov on the status of their mail ballot.

If possible, contact our office or visit a Vote Center to get a replacement envelope. If you are unable to get a replacement envelope, you can simply cross out the wrong signature, sign the envelope with your own signature, and then initial and date the change. This is a common issue, and we are able to sort it out at our Ballot Processing Center. However, it does make our job easier if you get a replacement envelope if time permits. The same would hold if you accidently signed their envelope.

Yes, 24-hour ballot drop boxes are a secure way to return your ballot. Here’s why:

• Designed to be tamper-proof
• Under 24-hour video surveillance during election periods
• Bipartisan courier teams transport ballots directly to our Ballot Processing Center
• Chain-of-custody is carefully monitored using our award-winning Ballot Box Tracking System

They are also the quickest way for your ballot to arrive at our Ballot Processing Center.

Please check your voter instructions (included with your mail ballot) or our website for the official list of 24-hour ballot drop boxes. If you have any doubts about the legitimacy of a drop box, please contact our office immediately at 303.413.7740.

Yes, any Colorado voter may return their mail ballot to any 24-hour ballot drop box in any county. As long as the ballot is returned by 7 p.m. on election night, we will make sure your ballot is rerouted to your county clerk’s office for counting.

Yes, however, it is a violation of law to receive more than 10 ballots for mailing or delivery in any election (example: do not collect ballots from all your neighbors for delivery to our office).

No. All valid ballots are counted in the same manner.

If you need or want to vote in-person rather than by using your mail ballot, you can visit a Vote Center. You can register and vote up to and including Election Day (until 7 p.m.). See Vote Center locations and dates/hours of operation.

Ballot Track only sends notifications about the status of your mail ballot (e.g., when it’s mailed to you, received by our office after you return it, and when it’s accepted after your signature is verified). If you vote in-person rather than returning your mail ballot, you will not receive any text/email/voice mail notifications that your ballot has been received/accepted. However, if you login to your Ballot Track account, you should see a message saying you voted in-person.

You can also confirm that you have received credit for voting by checking your status in your voter record at www.GoVoteColorado.gov (under the “Ballot Information” tab).

To confirm your registration status, check your voter record www.GoVoteColorado.gov.

If your status is marked as “Inactive,” that means we either sent you an official piece of election mail that was returned to us as “undeliverable” or were notified through USPS National Change of Address that you have moved. If your status is “Inactive,” you will not be automatically mailed a ballot unless you update your address at least 8 days prior to election day. If it is closer than 8 days to election day, you can still update your address online, but you will need to get your ballot at a Vote Center or by requesting a Ballot-to-Go.

Any form of voter intimidation will not be tolerated in Boulder County. At our Vote Centers, our election judges (and specifically the lead judges) are given specific instructions on what is and is not considered voter intimidation/electioneering. If they ever feel unsafe or if they’re unable to deescalate a situation, they are instructed to immediately dial 911. They are also provided an escalation pathway in the event they have questions about what is occurring at one of our Vote Centers.

We also work very closely with our sheriff’s office and district attorney. They are on standby and ready to support the Elections Division (in conjunction with our County attorneys) in determining whether an act qualifies as intimidation and to provide an appropriate response.

If you see something, say something – If you see activity that seems suspicious or you think may qualify as voter intimidation, please let our office know immediately by calling 303.413.7740.

That being said, we do have an official Election Watcher program in Colorado. Election Watchers are permitted to observe a variety of election activities, but they must be appointed by an authorized entity and their behavior is strictly regulated.

Colorado is a “first ballot in” state. This means that once a ballot is accepted by an Elections Division, no other ballots will be accepted for that individual.

If a voter who has already returned a mail ballot attempts to vote a second time, in-person at a Vote Center, the election judge will see in the statewide voter registration database that the individual has already voted and they will not be issued another ballot. If someone attempts to return two mail ballots (if they requested a replacement), the second ballot is not counted and the information is turned over to the District Attorney’s office for investigation and prosecution.