Election Day is less than a week away, and Coloradans are already casting their ballots with early in-person voting at dozens of voting centers. Others are using the hundreds of dropboxes throughout the state -- or have already mailed in their votes.
All of this happens under the purview of Colorado’s top election official, Secretary of State Jena Griswold. She says she has embraced the mission of making Colorado elections secure and more accessible. And although she says she rarely encounters confusion about how voting works here, there is one misconception that pops up…
"Maybe that there's just too many drop boxes at this point,” Griswold laughed.
Griswold joined In The NoCo to discuss Colorado's ranking as one of the best states to cast a vote, and the myth of too many dropboxes.
Interview Highlights
These interview highlights have been lightly edited for length and clarity
Erin O’Toole: Colorado has been ranked as one of the easiest states to vote in. Some of the criteria for that includes mail in ballots that go out automatically to all registered voters, same day registration, early voting, things like that. But voter turnout still isn't amazing. It's just under 59%. So that's higher than the national average, which is less than 50%. But I'm wondering, what do you think could really help increase turnout?
Jena Griswold: Well, I think turnout depends on the election. So, in 2020, for the presidential election, we had the second highest turnout in the country. And then you look at off-year elections, you know, coordinated elections, there tends to be lower turnout. Part of that is the election model itself. We need to have an accessible election model that allows eligible people who want to cast a ballot the ability to do so. But some of that turnout also can be driven by voters not feeling engaged on the specific topics.
So what I've done as Secretary of State is, of course, focus on our election model. And I said, a little bit tongue-in-cheek, there's too many drop boxes, but we've actually increased them by 65% because we want to make sure that Coloradans have the access that they need. There is no need in modern society to drive a couple hours, or have to wait in a ten-hour long line to cast a ballot. We've also increased access in different ways. For example, automatic voter registration which has registered over 450,000 people, parolee enfranchisement, working with the tribes to make sure that tribal access is guaranteed, and that we start to turn around the historical voter suppression against people in Colorado living on tribal lands. So that's what we've been really focused on, and I've been very proud of our successes.
Erin O’Toole: And it's worth pointing out that the work you oversee on actual Election Day is really just one piece of a very big pie when it comes to your work as Secretary of State. You mentioned making voting more accessible on tribal lands. Can you say more about that and about what your office is doing to improve access for historically marginalized groups like Native Americans?
Jena Griswold: I think it's really important and the duty of the Secretary of State to open up access when we can and increase our security. When I was first elected, in my first year in office in 2019, we worked with the Tribes to pass a series of laws, including guaranteed dropboxes on all tribal lands, guaranteed voting centers. We then went back and made more time available for those voting centers. So it's up to tribal leadership if they want the access, not state government officials. We also ensured that a mail ballot could get to a tribal member who did not have an address recognized by the U.S. Postal Service by allowing mail ballots to be sent directly to tribal headquarters. We made sure that some of the suppressive things we saw in the Dakotas related to tribal ID could not happen in Colorado. And then we've just continued to build on that partnership, including last legislative session, running a bill together to expand automatic voter registration to tribal IDs.
So we're continuing to partner with the tribes. You know, the right to vote for tribal members living on tribal lands in Colorado was not recognized until 1970. And so there has been a history of voter suppression against that group in Colorado. You know, we've seen an approximate 20% increase in turnout since we started to work together to fix and improve Colorado laws. But it's something I'm really dedicated to and it's been such a great partnership.
Erin O’Toole: And we hear a lot about how secure Colorado elections are. I'm wondering, what does that mean? What does that look like in a practical sense? Why is my vote considered safe here?
Jena Griswold: First and foremost, you're voting on a piece of paper. That means that our foreign adversaries or domestic hackers can't actually hack your ballot. It's a piece of paper. But above that, you know, we have one of the best voter registration database maintenance is in the country. County officials and bipartisan teams secure voting equipment and test all the voting equipment before it's used. There is strict chain of custody. We ensure election workers that are working with critical systems are properly background checked and trained. And then, of course, we do an after the election audit. It's the belle of the ball. Audits hold us to a high statistical degree of certainty that if any of the voting tabulation was not working, we would find it. We really are leading on security. And whenever there's something new that arises, like the insider threat we saw in Mesa County, well, we addressed that. I lead any changes that need to happen, and in that case, I led the first law in the nation on insider threats.
Erin O’Toole: I want to switch gears and talk about the security of election workers. During the 2020 election, we heard a lot about threats to poll workers across the country, perhaps not so much here in Colorado, and maybe some of that has died down. But I know it remains a concern for you and for other secretaries of state as well. Could you talk about some of your efforts to ensure that election workers here can do their job safely and without intimidation?
Jena Griswold: No election worker should feel that their life is being threatened because they're doing their job. Remember, the vast majority of election workers are election judges. They're volunteers, volunteers that are often paid for temporary work, but they're paired together in Democrat and Republican pairs to have oversight of every step of our elections. And to imagine the amount of vitriol that we're seeing across the country, it's just really inconceivable. And we've not been immune to it in Colorado. A recent report showed that about one third of elected local county clerks have retired or stepped down since 2020. Some of it is from just natural cycles of retirements, but people don't sign up to get threatened to do these jobs. I've led various efforts, including a new law making it a crime to retaliate against an election worker. I also led a new law which prohibits open carry close to a drop box, a voting center, or where ballots are being processed. But also, I've taken a very public stance on this, sharing with people some of the threats against me, because I think Coloradans need to know if the use of threats and intimidation is being used to try to tilt elections or intimidate election workers. And from that, you know, there's a deterrent effect in itself.
Erin O’Toole: Are you concerned about any disruptions in this year's election -- or next year's?
Jena Griswold: So, we have an election underway right now, the coordinated election and then next year, of course, we have the presidential primary, statewide primary and then the general election next November. And, you know, I think we'll have a great election. That's what Colorado is known for. We’re the gold standard of America's elections for a reason. That does not mean that the atmosphere is not more challenging at this point. I think whatever issues that will pop up, we will address them, including, by the way, there is a big lawsuit right now questioning whether Donald Trump is disqualified from the ballot. So we could see things, you know, pop up there; and we'll handle them. And Coloradans will have their voices heard.
Erin O’Toole: And I want to get your thoughts on that trial. It started this past Monday in a lawsuit seeking to bar Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot a. A Colorado judge has blocked several attempts from the former president to have that suit dismissed. I just wanted to get your thoughts on the case and whether this is the right venue to decide whether someone can or cannot appear on the ballot.
Jena Griswold: So what this case is about is whether Donald Trump is disqualified from the ballot because he incited the insurrection and engaged in insurrection. So Colorado voters, Republicans and Unaffiliateds, brought this lawsuit. And they allege under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, Trump is disqualified. It's a foundational question. And under Colorado law, voters can bring lawsuits like this. I think it is appropriate for a judge to weigh in. That's exactly how Colorado law works. And I await any direction from the judge in terms of ballot access for the former president.
Erin O’Toole: And we will, of course, be keeping an eye on that. As the person in charge of overseeing elections all across Colorado, is there anything that's keeping you up at night right now?
Jena Griswold: Well, just the drastic fear that one of your listeners who's eligible is not registered. You know, these elections, they're so important. It's how we decide who represents us at the local level, at our county levels. Big questions for the state of Colorado. So again, voters can just go register at GoVoteColorado.gov. That's the trusted source of election information. And of course, if you ever need further information, you should always reach out to your county clerk or to my office.
