AURORA, Colo. — With Election Day less than a month away and ballots already arriving in mailboxes statewide, Rep. Jason Crow held a roundtable Thursday with local election and law enforcement officials to discuss election security, correct misinformation, and put a response plan in place for any issues that may arise.
The roundtable brought together Arapahoe County Clerk Joan Lopez, Denver District Attorney John Walsh, Arapahoe County District Attorney Amy Padden, Arapahoe County Elections Director Bill Mast, Arapahoe County Sheriff Tyler Brown, and Ben Hess from the Committee for Safe and Secure Elections.
Denver7's Ethan Carlson heard from local leaders about election safety and has the following report:
"We have the safest and most secure election system in the world," Crow said.
Crow acknowledged that many voters are approaching this election already worried, pointing to rhetoric and online information that has made it difficult to separate fact from fiction.
"They hear the rhetoric coming out of the White House and out of this administration... they see things online. It's very hard in the current information environment to sort fact from fiction, what what's true and what's not," Crow said.
Walsh said he is confident the process will hold.
"This election is going to work. Colorado has the gold standard for election systems, and we're going to make sure collectively that everyone gets their opportunity to exercise the right to vote," Walsh said.
Colorado voters are paying close attention. Golden resident John Hutchinson said voting is the most direct way for everyday people to shape their communities.
"People have to get out there. That's the one way that we can essentially affect policy, affect, you know, where we live, how we live, what's done, what decisions are made, things that influence us, etc.," Hutchinson said.
Questions about the election process have intensified after roughly 800,000 ballots in Colorado included Ballot Issue 7A when they were not supposed to. Walsh said Colorado's layered system is built to catch and correct errors like this.
"Not only is there an electronic tabulation, but there's actually a paper ballot for each vote. So, it's possible to go back and verify the tabulations, do the recounts, and be absolutely sure that we're getting it right," Walsh said.
Hutchinson said unfounded concerns about election security can still take a lasting toll on public trust.
"Even if there aren’t legitimate security concerns, putting it out there that there are concerns, I think starts to raise doubt in people into our electoral process," Hutchinson said.
Walsh said the stakes could not be higher.
"Our entire constitutional democratic republic depends on people's votes being counted," Walsh said.
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Crow said Colorado's election system features several layers of protection: Ballots are handled by bipartisan teams, chain of custody is maintained at every step, and every voter's signature is verified before their ballot can be counted.
Voters can also sign up to receive text message updates showing when their ballot has been received and counted.
Officials are asking anyone who sees something suspicious to speak up. Those who feel intimidated or witness potential violations — including anyone carrying a firearm within 100 feet of a polling location — are encouraged to contact local law enforcement or their county clerk and recorder's office.
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