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ELECTION DAY VOTING QUESTIONS

1. What should a voter have in order to vote at his/her precinct polling place?

An approved form of identification will be requested of all voters. However, even if a voter forgets their form of identification, they may still vote a provisional ballot.

2. What kind of ID does a voter voting at his/her polling place need?

A voter may provide any of the following forms of ID in order to vote:

• A valid Colorado Driver's License
• A valid Colorado ID card issued by the Colorado Department of Revenue
• A valid U.S. passport
• A valid ID card (with photo) issued by any agency of the federal, state, or local government
• A valid pilot's license
• A valid U.S. military ID card (with photo)
• A copy of a current utility bill , telephone bill, cable bill, bank statement, government check, any paycheck
• A document from a college or university containing at least the name, date of birth, and residence address of the student elector
• A valid Medicare or Medicaid card
• A certified copy of a U.S. birth certificate
• A certified copy of naturalization documents
• Students can also use: An affidavit from the registrar at your public junior college, college or university in Colorado containing name, date of birth and residence of the student elector

Any voter ID with an address must reflect a Colorado address. Address need not match the voter registration address.

3. What happens if a voter does not bring ID to the polls?

Voters will be given a "provisional ballot," which contains all of the same candidate and issue elections on which the voter is entitled to vote.

4. How is a "provisional ballot" treated at the polling place and in the counting process?

A provisional ballot is a paper ballot that is completed and placed in a secrecy envelope, much like an absentee ballot. The provisional ballot envelope contains an oath to be signed by the voter which allows the envelope to double as an "Emergency Registration" in limited instances. (See 9 below.) Election judges are to check to ensure that the ballot envelope has been signed. If the voter fails to sign the ballot envelope, he/she is to be contacted by the County Clerk 's office after the election and asked to come to that office to sign the provisional ballot envelope.

A provisional ballot will be checked like an absentee ballot once the election is over to ensure that the voter is registered. It will count just as if the voter had voted on a regular ballot or voting machine, assuming that the voter's name can be found on the voter registration rolls.

5. What changes to the provisional ballot envelope/affidavit have been made?

A voter may provide any of the following information but is not required to provide information from both categories: (1) a Colorado driver's license number or a Department of Revenue ID number; or (2) the voter's entire Social Security number or the last four digits thereof. The failure to provide any such information will not prevent the voter from using a provisional ballot, but the ballot can only be counted if the voter's name and identifying information (last four digits of the voter's Social Security number, or driver's license number, or Department of Revenue ID number, or unique identifying number assigned at the time of registration) is found on the County's master registration list after the election.

6. What happens if a voter doesn't use the absentee ballot he/she requested ?

If a voter never received the absentee ballot he/she requested, or lost it, or spoiled it (i.e., mismarked it in any way), the voter may go to his/her precinct polling place and vote a provisional ballot and must affirm that he/she has not and will not vote again in that election. Alternatively, the voter may vote on a replacement absentee ballot at the county clerk's office before 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.

7. What if a voter attempts to vote at the wrong precinct?

The election judge should inform the voter that he/she is at the wrong precinct and assist the voter in finding the location of the correct precinct. A voter who does not wish to go to the correct polling place will be given a provisional ballot and can vote it, but it will count only for President. If a voter was sent to the wrong precinct by an election official, that fact should be noted on the provisional envelope, and the voter's vote on the entire ballot will count to the extent that he/she is qualified to vote in the elections on the ballot provided in that precinct.

8. What happens if the election judge cannot find a voter's name on the registration records even though the voter is at the correct precinct?

The election judge should first ask the voter if they are in the correct precinct. If the voter feels he/she is in the correct precinct, the election judge must ask the voter whether he/she attempted to register through a voter registration drive or an independent organization ("VRD") , rather than the office of the County Clerk or a motor vehicle office. (This question is not designed to disenfranchise the voter but to provide a way for individuals to vote if they attempted to register in this manner and their registration forms were not delivered to the Clerk.)

If the voter attempted to register through a VRD , the voter will be asked what organization conducted the registration drive, where the voter attempted to register, and approximately on what date the voter attempted to register. Regardless of the voter's ability to answer these questions, the voter will be given a provisional ballot. However, that ballot will be counted only if the voter provides some ID at the polls.

Voters who did not register with a VRD and whose names do not appear on the voting rolls must still be given a provisional ballot. Voting officials will assess after the election whether the individual was properly registered in that precinct and whether his/her vote will count.

9. What if a voter participated in a voter registration drive but his/her name is not on precinct voter registration records?

This voter must vote using the provisional ballot, complete the information fields on the provisional ballot envelope, and sign the affidavit on the envelope. If this voter fails to provide ID at the polls, the provisional ballot will not count unless voting officials can otherwise verify the voter's registration based on the databases available to them.

10. What if the voter is a first-time voter and didn't provide identifying information when he/she registered by mail ?

A person who recently registered by mail without providing identifying information on his/her registration form, such as a Social Security number or a driver's license number, will be asked to produce one of the forms of ID listed above. If ID is provided, he/she will be allowed to vote a regular ballot, and the ballot will be counted. If no ID is provided, that person will be given a provisional ballot.

11. What if the voter is a first-time voter who did not present ID when he/she registered in person?

A person who recently registered in person who was unable to provide a form of identification at that time would have been assigned a unique identifier on the Clerk and Recorder's Database. Such a voter who appears in person to cast a vote without ID will cast a regular ballot.

12. What happens if a voter is still in line to vote at 7:00 p.m. on Election Day ?

Every voter who is in line at that time must be permitted to vote, regardless of whether they have begun the any element of the process of voting.

13. What happens when a voter's right cast a ballot is challenged ?

A person's right to vote – whether by regular ballot or by provisional ballot – may be challenged on Election Day. Challenges may only be made by election judges, poll watchers, and eligible electors of the precinct , and they must be made in writing and under oath .

A voter who is challenged on the ground that he/she is not a U.S. citizen will be asked by the election judge, "Are you a citizen of the United States ?". A voter who is challenged on the basis that he/she is not old enough to vote will be asked by the election judge, "To the best of your knowledge and belief, are you eighteen years of age or older?". Finally, a voter who is challenged for lack of residency in the state and the precinct will be asked by the election judge whether he/she resided in Colorado and this precinct for the 30 days immediately preceding this election; whether he/she has had a home or domicile elsewhere during that time; if so, whether the voter intended to return or remain out of the state; whether the voter considered Colorado to be their home; and whether the voter voted elsewhere in the U.S. during that period.

After answering these questions, the voter will be asked to sign an affidavit, certifying his/her answers, unless the challenge has been withdrawn. A voter must be given a ballot by the election judge unless the voter refuses to answer the questions asked or sign the affidavit.