GOP Officers’ Blog

 This list of Election Integrity Issues presents one GOP Officers opinion and will be updated as necessary during this upcoming 2024 election cycle. This complete list of Issues is based on a Judicial Watch Special Report published in the spring of 2023, titled “Challenges to Protecting the Integrity of Our Elections and STOPPING Voter Fraud.”

1. The importance of Voter ID. The current Colorado system is based on filling out a voter registration form, and emailing or mailing it into CO Secretary of States’ (SOS) Office. It can also be turned in at the County Clerk’s Office in person, where your identification will be verified against the information submitted on the form. At the top of the form is the Question, “are you a U.S. Citizen, YES or NO.” If the registering person marks NO, then you cannot register to vote. Only U.S. Citizens over the age of 18 years are allowed to vote. However, when the form is mailed or emailed into the State SOS Office, there is no verification of identification; so it is left to the County to verify identification at some point. A further complication is the “Motor-Voter Law,” which is in force in Colorado and allows all persons when they get a drivers license to be automatically  registered to vote, based on age and identification, but does not check for citizenship. This is another way that illegal immigrants can wind up being on the voter registration lists, because of “automatic” voter registration.
2. The importance of Voter Registration. Colorado is now a 100% mail-in ballot state, according to our current SOS, Ms. Jena Griswold. This technically means that you cannot receive a mail-in ballot, unless you are registered with the County Clerk with a current physical address (not a P.O. Box), that places you in one of Grand County’s 12 Precincts. When you register on-line and email your registration form to the State SOS Office, there is a chance of delays or mishandling, which delays your registration form from being received back at the County Clerk’s Office. You should ALWAYS plan to fill out and complete your registration form at least two (2) weeks in advance of the mail-in ballots being mailed out. If you expect you are going to be a last-minute registrant, it is wise to register in person at the County Clerk’s Office as soon as possible before the election. There are persons who will assure you that same-day voter registration is possible, and that may be true in some locations where Voter Service and Polling Centers (VSPCs) are available for voting in person, but if you are serious about voting, I advise voters to vote your mail-in ballot early and turn it in early to ensure it gets counted. Some counties will set up voter registration sites from time to time before the election to help update their voter registration rolls as well as to accommodate newly moved voters, where you can check in and verify your registration status or re-register if necessary. County Registration Rolls will keep a registered voter active on the list for multiple election cycles ,if you are an active voter, but after two election cycles of not voting, you will be declared inactive, and you will no longer receive a mail-in ballot. Keeping the County Voter Registration Rolls up-to-date is an important responsibility for the County Clerk. As a Grand County GOP Officer, and specifically as a Precinct Chairman, you can assist the County Clerk by advising her of persons who have moved out or moved in to the Precinct or that may not have registered yet. I always advise new county arrivals to go to the County Clerk’s Office in person as soon as possible to get registered.
3. Know and Understand State Election Laws and County Election Regulations. The Grand County GOP is making concerted efforts to train all of our GOP Officers on local election regulations and state election law, so they can be more effective in serving the County and functioning in their GOP positions within their areas of influence during the 2024 election cycle. State Election Law and local election training is scheduled for the late fall of 2023 and notification of training dates will be published and shown on this website. GOP Election Judges and poll watchers are especially important to get training to ensure you are following proper State and County Election procedures. This training is normally provided by the County Clerk’s Office.  There are two important aspects of this Election Integrity Issue. One, if you are found in violation of these laws or procedures, you will likely be removed from your election position, and two, If your counterparts (Democrats) find you or one of their own in violation, they will likely be removed, and if the case is serious enough, you can be fined or sued. So attend the training . . .and pay attention!
4.  Mail-in Ballot Voting Procedures.  The County Clerk’s procedures involve only mailing out ballots to registered voters on the active voter registration lists. If you have not recently voted in the last two election cycles, or have moved or had your phone disconnected, you are likely no longer eligible to receive a mail-in ballot.  Even with those voter registration updates, there will likely be over 10,000 ballots to be mailed out to active registered voters in the county.  This is a massive effort to get the voter registration lists updated and then mail out this many ballots, at least two weeks in advance of the November election date. All mail-in ballots must be returned via mail or delivered in person to county authorized drop boxes or to county designated VSPCs on or before the election day. No late or undelivered mail-in ballots can be counted after the election date has passed. Additional state mail-in ballot procedures may be promulgated by the CO SOS office during the election cycle.   http://Part 2 — the Solutions

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