(1) (a) No later than thirty days prior to election day, the county clerk and recorder shall submit to the clerk conducting the mail ballot election a complete preliminary list of registered electors.
No later than twenty days prior to election day, the county clerk and recorder shallsubmit to the clerk a supplemental list of the names of eligible electors who registered to vote on or before twenty-two days before the election whose names were not included on the preliminary list.
All lists of registered electors provided to a clerk under this section must include thelast mailing address of each elector.
(2) (a) Not sooner than twenty-two days before an election, and no later than fifteen days before an election, the clerk shall mail to each active eligible elector, at the last mailing address appearing in the registration records and in accordance with United States postal service regulations, a mail ballot packet marked "Do not forward. Address correction requested.", or any other similar statement that is in accordance with United States postal service regulations. (b) A ballot or ballot label must contain the following warning:
WARNING:
Any person who, by use of force or other means, unduly influences an eligible elector to vote in any particular manner or to refrain from voting, or who falsely makes, alters, forges, or counterfeits any mail ballot before or after it has been cast, or who destroys, defaces, mutilates, or tampers with a ballot is subject, upon conviction, to imprisonment, or to a fine, or both.
(c) (I) A return envelope must have printed on it a self-affirmation substantially in the following form:
State of .... Municipality of ...., County of ....
I, ...., affirm and say that I am a qualified and registered elector in the municipality of ....
and state of Colorado; that my residence and post office address is ....; and that I herein enclose my ballot in accordance with the provisions of the "Colorado Municipal Election Code of 1965". I realize that if any false statements are contained herein that I shall be subject to prosecution for criminal action.
| .......................... | .................................. |
|---|---|
| Date | Signature of voter |
The signing of the self-affirmation on the return envelope described in subparagraph(I) of this paragraph (c) constitutes an affirmation by the eligible elector, under penalty of perjury, that the facts stated in the self-affirmation are true. If the eligible elector is unable to sign, the eligible elector may affirm by making a mark on the self-affirmation, with or without assistance, witnessed by another person.
A return envelope is not required to have a flap covering the signature.
No sooner than twenty-two days prior to election day, and until 7 p.m. on electionday, mail ballots must be made available at the clerk's office for eligible electors who request a ballot.
(I) An eligible elector may obtain a replacement ballot if the ballot was destroyed,spoiled, lost, or for some other reason not received by the eligible elector. An eligible elector may obtain a ballot if a mail ballot packet was not sent to the elector because the eligibility of the elector could not be determined at the time the mail ballot packets were mailed. In order to obtain a ballot in such cases, the eligible elector must sign a sworn statement specifying the reason for requesting the ballot. The statement must be presented to the clerk no later than 7 p.m. on election day. The clerk shall keep a record of each ballot issued in accordance with this paragraph (e) together with a list of each ballot obtained pursuant to paragraph (d) of this subsection (2).
(II) The clerk shall not transmit a mail ballot packet under this paragraph (e) unless a sworn statement requesting the ballot is received on or before election day. A ballot may be transmitted directly to the eligible elector requesting the ballot at the clerk's office or may be mailed to the eligible elector at the address provided in the sworn statement. Ballots may be cast no later than 7 p.m. on election day.
(3) (a) Upon receipt of a ballot, the eligible elector shall mark the ballot, sign and complete the self-affirmation on the return envelope, and comply with the instructions provided with the ballot.
(b) The eligible elector may return the marked ballot to the clerk by United States mail or by depositing the ballot at the office of the clerk or any place designated as a depository by the clerk. The ballot must be returned in the return envelope. If an eligible elector returns the ballot by mail, the elector must provide postage. The ballot must be received at the clerk's office or a designated depository, which must remain open until 7 p.m. on election day. The depository must be designated by the clerk and located in a secure place under the supervision of the clerk, an election judge, or another person designated by the clerk.
Once the ballot is returned, an election judge shall first qualify the submitted ballotby comparing the information on the return envelope with the registration records to determine whether the ballot was submitted by an eligible elector who has not previously voted in the election. If the ballot so qualifies and is otherwise valid, the election judge shall indicate in the pollbook that the eligible elector cast a ballot and deposit the ballot in an official ballot box.
(4.5) The signature of the eligible elector on the self-affirmation on the return envelope must be compared with the signature of the eligible elector on file in the statewide voter registration system, created in section 1-2-301, C.R.S., in accordance with section 31-10-910.3.
All deposited ballots must be counted as provided in this article. A mail ballot isvalid and counted only if it is returned in the return envelope, the self-affirmation on the return envelope is signed and completed by the eligible elector to whom the ballot was issued, and the information on the return envelope is verified in accordance with subsection (4) of this section. Mail ballots must be counted in the same manner provided by section 31-10-610 for counting paper ballots or section 31-10-811 for counting electronic ballots. If the election official determines that an eligible elector to whom a replacement ballot has been issued has voted more than once, the first ballot returned by the elector is considered the elector's official ballot. Rejected ballots are handled in the same manner as provided in section 31-10-612.
Source: L. 2014: Entire section added, (HB 14-1164), ch. 2, p. 63, § 20, effective February 18. L. 2016: (4.5) added, (HB 16-1070), ch. 130, p. 373, § 3, effective August 10. L. 2020: (2)(c)(I) amended, (HB 20-1156), ch. 51, p. 178, § 4, effective September 14.
Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 14-1164, see section 1 of chapter 2, Session Laws of Colorado 2014.