Transcript
Speaker: Welcome to All In Adams, the official podcast Adams County Government, where we're all in for our residents, our employees, and our community. So whether you live here, work here, or you just want to know more about what makes Adams County a great place to be, thanks for tuning in. We're all in, Adams.
Speaker: Hello, and welcome to another episode of All In Adams. I'm Julie Jackson, and I'm a communications supervisor here at Adams County. And I'm here today with Chrissy Jackson, who is our deputy director of elections, as well as Evelyn Guzman de Leon, our community engagement administrator. um So welcome to you both. Thank you so much for joining me.
Speaker: Yeah. And Chrissy, I know you're feeling a little under the weather. So thank you so much for being here, even though you're a little feeling that. But if you ever, like I said, if you need to talk or have Evelyn step in, please feel free.
Speaker: um But I'm really excited to have you both here because um with the midterms fast approaching, um it's on Tuesday, November it's coming up. So we're really here to talk about first-time voters, what they can expect in Colorado and Adams County,
Speaker: And honestly, you know, even if you're not a first time voter, I really feel like the things that we're going to talk about today are going to be very, very helpful. So, um you know, the first step, I think, in kind of preparing yourself to be a voter in Adams County um or the state of Colorado is you got to register. Right.
Speaker: So, Chrissy, could you maybe walk me through that registration process? You know, what a registration what, of excuse me, residents need to do to register and who's eligible?
Speaker: um Colorado makes it pretty easy and straightforward. You can register online. and We also have automatic voter registration. So if you go in to get your driver's license, you are automatically registered to vote now. So we actually have a really high...
Speaker: registration rate in Colorado um because of that reason. um You can also register in our office. You can go to a polling center once they open.
Speaker: ah So there's lots of options to be able to get registered and ways to do that, especially if you can't make it in. um To be eligible, you need to be a citizen of the United States. ah Recently this year, we actually changed, so pre-registration is 15 and up. So in year 15, Evelyn is great at the high school, so she gets a lot of people registered there. um And you can actually be a student election worker as well at 15 now. So...
Speaker: Get registered to vote. Those are the only two eligibility things is be a citizen and be a age. Awesome. And with that pre-registration, I just wanted to kind of check in and clarify on this.
Speaker: So you can register at 15, but then obviously you're not able to vote until 18, right? It's just making sure that like you're ready to go when you hit 18. Yep. And to be a student election worker, you need to be registered to vote. So okay so that helps you with that too.
Speaker: Awesome. And so thinking about some of our new voters, like particularly people maybe who have recently moved to Colorado, what should they know? um Can you give us a general idea of kind of that elections process and um and what they should expect out of it?
Speaker: Yeah, um you need to live in Colorado for 22 days before you're eligible to vote. So that's something that you do need to know. Make sure that you update your registration to your current address because that will give you all of your correct districts, the correct contest that you need to vote in.
Speaker: um
Speaker: What else? um You can go on GoVoteColorado to check your registration. So that is one of the easiest ways. You can check your affiliation there. um It'll also tell you where you can go to vote.
Speaker: AdamsVotes.com is another avenue for that. That'll tell you where your nearest polling center is. It'll tell you all the information for our office. um So that gives you a ton of information too.
Speaker: Awesome. Now, for that upcoming election in November, ballots are going to start going out Monday, October 5th. So, Evelyn, can you maybe talk to me about what residents, what should they be prepared for once they receive their ballot?
Speaker: Yeah, absolutely. So once you receive that ballot, you want to make sure you open it. You take your time taking a look at everything that's inside ballot. You might be tempted to just start filling it out. So ah just find a place where you feel comfortable. Make sure you're filling out the correct ballot as well. As Chrissy said, there's going to be different ballots for different districts. And so you want to make sure you have the right ballot with you. And yeah, just get to a comfortable place and fill it out. And yeah.
Speaker: Yeah. Make sure you follow the instructions. And then once you're done with that, you put it in the return envelope and you make sure you turn it into one of our ballot boxes. We have 29 ballot boxes in Adams County but they can that they can return it to. And then if you want to return it through the mail, then you want to make sure you don't do that. You don't wait until the last minute to do that.
Speaker: Of course. Well, and it's um it's probably pretty tempting for our voters to like grab that sticker that I voted sticker off that instructions, you know, and just jump right into voting their ballot. So um I love that you brought up following the instructions. And could you maybe just tell me a little bit more about why those instructions are so important and fall and like reading through them and following them? Yeah, for sure. and You reading the instructions can help you avoid making mistakes while filling out your ballot mistake that could potentially cost you a vote. And if you take a look at those, we worked really hard on those and those instructions in our office. And we're very proud of making sure that those are written correctly.
Speaker: Legibly and that you can make sure that the voters know exactly how to fill it out and you know what box to do and whether it's voting for one or voting for two, that all of that is is correct on there. So you want to make sure you take a look at the instructions and that you read them correctly, especially first time voters. I want to make sure that you read those instructions and um also how to how to return it. You want to put it in the correct envelope to return it. You want to return it to the correct play. So all of that is written in the instructions. So take your time filling that out. and And it is tempting to just put the sticker on, fill out the bubbles and just turn it in. But um yeah, you want to take your time with it.
Speaker: Absolutely. Okay, so Chrissy, I follow the instructions. I voted my ballot. Now what do I do? How do i make sure it gets back to the elections department and how can I keep track of it through that process?
Speaker: So your ballot needs to be returned on election day in Colorado by 7 p.m. So don't wait till the last minute and be in line 6.59. Try and turn your ballot in early. You do get it early in Colorado, which is nice. You have lots of time to do research and fill it out. um We do have, as Evelyn was saying, we have 29 drop boxes around our county.
Speaker: If you're in a rush, you can drop your ballot into any election drop box and it will get to us. So make sure you get your ballots in If you use USPS, just make sure that you send it out at least a week in advance to make it back to our office in time. um Try not to send it the day before. it will make it here with you as BS, unfortunately.
Speaker: um A great way to keep track of your ballot is ballot tracks. So if you don't have an email address with us on file, call in, fill out a registration form, come to our office. We can get you signed up for ballot tracks. That's a great way. It'll text you when your ballot goes out. it will text you when we receive your ballot.
Speaker: So it is a really nice system. you can also go check that online and it will tell you where your ballot is in the process as well. Awesome. And so I mentioned earlier about ballots going out on Monday, October 5th.
Speaker: um And that's also the day that Dropbox is open, correct? Okay, awesome. um And what are some of those other key deadlines that our voters should really know about? So election day is obviously the big one, which is November 3rd. So like I said before, make sure it's received by 7 p.m.
Speaker: um If you have not received your ballot from us by October 16th, call our office. We can send you a replacement ballot. Soon as our um voter service and polling centers open, which is on the 19th, you can actually come into those. They can give you a replacement mail ballot or you can vote in person there. So that's a good date to know.
Speaker: um October 26th is the last day you can call our office and request a replacement ballot. So if you don't get your ballot in time, make sure you're calling us ahead of time to get you a new one.
Speaker: um
Speaker: Don't wait until November 3rd. Like I said, try and get your ballot into us early. The earlier you get it to us, the earlier we can process it as well. And that's so you will get election results a lot faster that way too.
Speaker: Awesome. Now, to to make sure that we have enough time to really hit some more key points that I wanted to you know go through, I kind of want to change it up just a little bit and do a kind of a little bit of speed round style of FAQs that our voters might have.
Speaker: So I'm going to pose questions as if I'm the voter. And to make it easier, we'll just we can alternate, and you know, who answers what. So, Evelyn, I'll start with you. ah What if I lose my ballot? Don't panic. Yeah. If you lose your ballot, you still have options. You can come into one of our voter centers, our voter, our polling centers to get a replacement ballot. You can also vote there as well. If you, if you'd like to vote in person, you can also come to our office. Like Chrissy said, you can give us a call. And if it's before October 26th, you can still get that replacement ballot in the mail.
Speaker: Correct. But if it's after October 26th and you want to do, you can get that in person at one of our our polling centers. So the point being, don't panic. You can still, you know, losing your ballot doesn't mean that you can't vote. It just just give us a call and we can make sure that you can get that in.
Speaker: Awesome. All right. What if I make a mistake or change my mind while I'm completing my ballot? um If you make a mistake while you're ah completing your ballot, you can cross that out. It'll give you instructions on your ballot that tells you exactly how to fix that. If you have any questions, call our office. So try not to make it worse. Don't rip your ballot. Don't tear your ballot because it's a whole nother process for us. So ah when in doubt, call and ask questions. But it will give you instructions if you change your mind on how to do that on the ballot correctly.
Speaker: Okay. What if I never received my ballot? If you didn't receive your ballot, you want to make sure that you check that voter registration information, make sure that your address is updated to where you currently live.
Speaker: And you can do that at Adams County code dot gov slash elections um and to make sure that your address is correct. And then for this election, ballots are going to be mailing going to be mailed out on October fifth ah So if you haven't received that by October 16th, like Chrissy said, you should just contact our office and don't wait until election day to figure it out. At that point, you will be in panic mode and and you don't want to, you know, fill out that ballot while you're in that state of mind. So just make sure you take your time with doing so. And if um something doesn't look right, you can always reach out to us directly. Awesome. What if I forget to sign my ballot and sit before I send it back?
Speaker: So if you forget to sign, it is not the end of the world, I promise. and We will send you a what's called a cure letter in the mail. You also have the option to cure by text. We'll send you instructions on how to do that. That is our probably our most popular way of returning your cure letter now. So it doesn't automatically mean that your vote is not going to count.
Speaker: You will get an option to cure that ballot and you have eight days after election day to do so. All right. What if I moved or I'm traveling on election day or around election time? If you moved, you want to make sure you updated that registration, right, with that new date. um But if you're moving, if you're in the middle of it all, um moving can affect where you're registered and what you're going to see on that ballot. so it's important to keep that information current.
Speaker: And if you're traveling, don't assume that you're not going to be able to to vote because you're not home on election day. Because we're a mail ballot system here in Colorado, there are options for voters who are going to be somewhere else rather than where they normally are during election day. So just make sure that you make those plans ahead of time, because if you if you wait until you're in the middle of travel, then your options are going to be limited. um So plan ahead is the is what I would say.
Speaker: Awesome. And last one, what should I do if I need accessibility accommodation or language assistance? So our voter and voter service and polling center sites are great resources for that. We actually have a language hotline that you can use when you come in and that translates into lots of different languages for you. and We also have ballot marking devices, which that will read the ballot to you if you need. You can make the letters bigger on that screen.
Speaker: There's lots of options for that. You can also do an um accessible ballot online if you absolutely need to and or an emergency ballot. So we do have options. Awesome. Well, thank you both for humoring me for that rapid fire FAQ.
Speaker: um And since throughout this process, we've really mentioned, you know, reaching out to the elections office, I kind of want to make sure that we provide that contact info. um So for our listeners and our watchers, you can find more info at Adams County code.gov slash elections. Also, I know Christy mentioned our Adams votes.com that gets you to the exact same place.
Speaker: um You can also reach out to 720-523-6500 or Adams.elections at AdamsCountyCo.gov. um Those are the best resources for you if you have questions. So we'll be sure to put that so um that excuse me that link in the show notes for everybody.
Speaker: And, you know, before we wrap up, and because elections are a hot topic right now, I would like us to shift for a minute and talk to all voters. So k Chrissy, for those who might be worried about election security, can you just talk to me a little bit about some of the measures that we use to really ensure that elections are safe and secure?
Speaker: Sure. We have lots of safeguards in place for elections. um One of the biggest ones for a mail ballot is signature verification. So if your signature does not match, it will be reviewed by a bipartisan team of judges. If they decide that your signature doesn't match, it will you will get a cure letter in the mail, which I have talked to you guys about.
Speaker: um We also have strict guidelines when it comes to chain of custody for ballots. um ah Every area in the elections office is worked as a bipartisan team. So you will never see a lone judge in our office. They will always be paired with another party.
Speaker: trying to think if I missed anything. We have our... Post-election audit, it's called our risk-limiting audit. We do that every year to ensure that our results are correct with the state.
Speaker: So there's lots of safeguards in place to make sure that your vote counts and that your vote is safe and secure. Awesome. And, you know, because we live in an age now where information is literally everywhere, um Evelyn, what's your best recommendation for where voters and first-time voters, everyone else, where should they look or reach out when they have questions?
Speaker: um My recommendation would be to go directly to the source. You mentioned our website. So the Adams County Elections website is going to be your best place to check everything, including our Dropbox locations, our voter service and polling centers. um The ballot tracking information that Christy mentioned, how to update your registration, and how to register to vote, important dates and deadlines. So everything's going to be on there. um A lot of the stuff that you see on social media may not apply directly to you or it may not be correct. And so... There is a lot of misinformation and disinformation out there. So you want to make sure that at any time you're your looking at elections information, that it is from accredited source, such as our website. The Secretary of State's office it also has an official website that you can look at for statewide information as well.
Speaker: so that is what would say. Awesome. and And I think it's important, kind of like we've stressed throughout this um this time together, that it's it's absolutely okay to have questions.
Speaker: Exactly. Absolutely okay to ask. Yes. And, you know, not everybody, I don't know everything about elections and I've worked in elections for years. So don't hesitate to call. Nothing is a silly question. um We do get a lot of questions and that's why we hire extra people. election workers during the election time that are specifically there to answer phones. So somebody is going to be there to help you. like that That is exactly what ah were why we're there. So give us a call and when you're in doubt.
Speaker: Awesome. And is there anything else that you really think that our residents and our voters need to know before November 3rd? Yes, this is something that in community engagement I i do a lot, especially at high schools ah for first time voters is ah talk about how election doesn't elections doesn't have to be elections don't have to be intimidating. So if you're a first time voter, it's completely OK to have questions, even, you know, in my.
Speaker: decades of voting, I still have questions. So take your time, read the instructions, know your deadlines and use those resources that are available to you. um So if you're listening to this and thinking, I don't know where to start, that's okay to start with that voter registration, make sure that that information is current, and then go from there.
Speaker: Awesome. How about you, Christy? Anything else you want us to know? ah Just no question is silly for us. We are here to help you. we want everyone to vote. Doesn't matter what party you are. We want everybody to vote. It's important to keep everything safe and secure. and we're here for you.
Speaker: Awesome. Well, Chrissy, Evelyn, thank you again so much for joining me today. it It's really been a pleasure to chat with you about the elections process. And I'm sure that this has been helpful, informative for our audience. So um and speaking of our audience, thank you, everyone, for tuning into this episode. I'm Julie Jackson, Communications Supervisor for Adams County, and we'll see you next time on All in Adams. That's a wrap for this episode of All In Adams.
Speaker: Thank you for joining us as we explore the people, programs, and the policies that make Adams County a great place to live, work, and thrive. If you enjoyed the show, be sure to subscribe and share with your friends, neighbors, and colleagues. Have a topic you'd like us to cover?
Speaker: Let us know. We're All In for bringing you the stories that matter most. Until next time, take care of each other and stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, Nextdoor, and ex We're all in, Adams, and we're all in for you.
