General Questions
Q: Why does the Secretary of State have information on voters, their voter registration and elections?
A: The Secretary of State is designated by state law as the chief election official in the State of Colorado. The office is required under federal and state law to maintain a variety of information about registered voters, their eligibility to vote, their participation in elections and voter registration. Much of this information is “public record” and available for inspection under the Colorado Open Records Act. Some of the information is not available for inspection but may only be used for official governmental purposes as specified in state and/or federal law.
County clerks and recorders, in their capacity as local election officials, manage voter registration information using a computerized system provided and administered by the Secretary of State. This information is then used for election purposes by state and local officials.
Q: What information about voters is publicly available?
A: Information is provided by citizens at the time they register to vote. Some of this information is then generally available. This includes: full name; residential address; party affiliation and date of affiliation; phone number (if provided by the voter); gender; birth year; an indication of whether the voter has elected to permanently participate in elections by mail-in ballot; and, information about whether a voter has voted in elections.
Q: What information about voters in not publicly available?
A: Some information provided by registered voters is kept only for the purpose of verifying eligibility for registration and may be used only for official purposes as specified by law. Some examples of this type of information are: driver’s license number; any portion of a Social Security number; and full date of birth. There are also circumstances under which information about specific voters is not available, such as if a registered voter is in danger of criminal harassment (24-72-204, C.R.S.) or if a registered voter is a participant in Colorado’s Address Confidentiality Program (24-21-208, C.R.S.)
Q: How can I verify my voter registration information is correct?
A: You may easily verify your own voter registration information using a web site provided by the Secretary of State – http://GoVoteColorado.com. Click the “Verify your Voter Registration Information” link, and you’ll be prompted to provide information to identify yourself and your current voter registration information will be displayed. The web site also provides contact information for your local county elections office in case you want to contact them directly about your voter information or upcoming elections. In addition, your polling place information for upcoming elections will be displayed.
Q: I have a question about my own voter registration, elections or voting, who should I contact?
A: You are encouraged to speak to your local election official directly since your county clerk is responsible for voter registration and conducting elections for your county. You may also contact the office of the Secretary of State. Depending on the nature of your question, either a county representative or a state representative will be best able to respond. We provide a list of county election office contacts at http://www.elections.colorado.gov/Content/Documents/countyclerk_english.pdf. Contact information for our office is available on our web site at http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/info_center/contact.html.
Questions on Voter Information Requests
Q: I want general information on the number of voters registered in Colorado. Where can I obtain this information?
A: The Secretary of State’s office maintains some statistical summary information on current and historical voter registrations in Colorado. This information is available from the Elections Center portion of our web site under “Election Resources”.
Q: How can I find out which voters have signed up as Permanent Mail-In Voters (PMIV)?
A: An indication of PMIV status for individual voters is an element of a standard data extract which can be provided by the state and county offices. This standard voter information extract may be referred to as the “Registered Voter List Export” or “EX-003” export. This extract can be provided by the state at any time, and will be available within three business days of the request. Please contact Cesi Gomez at cesiah.gomez@sos.state.co.us to make a request.
Q: Where can I find out which voters are scheduled to or have received a mail-in (absentee) ballot?
A: Local county election officials are the best and most timely source of information on the status of mail-in ballot processing. One of the standard reports you may request is known as the “Absentee List (Public)” or “E-032” report or extract. This report can be created either as a print-ready report or as a data export. It is a standardized report.
Q: Where can I find out which voters have voted at an early voting location?
A: Local county election officials are the best and most timely source of information on the status of participation at early voting. One of the standard reports you may request is known as the “Early Voters List (Public)” or “EV-002” report or extract. This report can be created either as a print-ready report or as a data export. It is a standardized report.
Q: How can I track voting on Election Day in a polling location or at a vote center?
A: Voting participation on Election Day is usually monitored through the use of poll watchers at voting sites, or by receiving updates from a local county election office. Please contact your local county official for guidance.
Q: I would like to purchase information about voters. Where can I find out what information is available?
A: A chart describing the types of information which is available, the frequency with which it can be provided and the fees charged for information is available from the web site of the Secretary of State under Elections Division Fee Schedule. Please contact your local county election official for information about county-specific information requests.
Q: I’m a member of the media. Can I obtain information about voters at a reduced cost?
A: The Secretary of State generally provides standard reports at a reduced cost to accredited representatives of media and academic institutions. Please contact our office for specific details.