Code of Colorado Regulations
1505 - Department of State
1505 - Secretary of State
8 CCR 1505-1 - ELECTIONS
18 - Uniform Counting Standards for Paper Ballots
Universal Citation: 8 CO Code Regs 1505-1 ยง 18
Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 17, September 10, 2024
18.1 In any election where a multiple page printed ballot is used, a voter must vote and return all pages of the ballot at the same time. Any voter who returns at least one page of a multiple page printed ballot will be considered to have voted and the county clerk or designated election official must count the votes on the submitted pages. The county clerk must not count votes on additional pages returned at a later time. The county clerk must appropriately mark, set aside, and preserve the ballots as election records in accordance with section 1-7-802, C.R.S.
18.2 Standards for hand counting paper ballots
18.2.1 In accordance with section
1-7-309, C.R.S., and Rule 18.5,
judges counting ballots must consider the intent of the voter.
18.2.2 If a race or ballot measure is
overvoted, the judges must not count any vote for that race or ballot
measure.
18.2.3 If a race or ballot
measure contains no markings by the voter, no tally will be made for that race
or ballot measure. But all other candidate races or ballot measures properly
marked by the voter on the ballot must be counted.
18.2.4 A ballot which has no markings for any
candidate races or ballot measures must be tallied as a blank ballot.
18.3 Procedures for counting paper ballots on ballot scanners at central count locations.
18.3.1 Before tabulation, a resolution board
must duplicate damaged ballots, and may duplicate ballots with marks that may
identify the voter, in accordance with Rule 18.4. Election judges may visually
inspect every ballot for the limited purpose of segregating damaged ballots and
ballots with marks that may identify the voter.
18.3.2 A county must sort ballots requiring
resolution according to the capabilities of its voting system. If a county's
voting system supports digital ballot resolution, the county must program the
voting system to digitally queue for resolution blank ballots, ballots with
write-in votes, and ballots with overvotes. Ballots with marginal or ambiguous
markings must be sorted according to the system provider's specifications, or,
if different, the applicable Conditions of Use issued by the Secretary of
State. The digitally queued ballots must be resolved by election judges in
accordance with Rule 18.5.
18.3.3 A
resolution board must resolve ballots sorted or rejected for resolution.
(a) In partisan elections, a resolution board
must consist of at least two election judges affiliated with different major
political parties.
(b) In
nonpartisan elections, a resolution board must consist of at least two election
judges.
(c) A resolution board must
work at each resolution workstation.
(d) The members of a resolution board for an
election may change, but all members of the resolution board at any particular
time must satisfy the eligibility requirements specified in Rule
18.3.3.
18.4 Ballot duplication.
18.4.1 A resolution board
must duplicate a voter's choices or selections on a damaged ballot onto a blank
ballot of the same ballot style in accordance with Rule 18.4. During the
duplication process, and to the extent necessary, the resolution board must
also resolve overvotes, write-in votes, and ambiguous markings in accordance
with Rule 18.5.
(a) The county clerk must
train resolution board members to resolve voter intent issues in accordance
with the Secretary of State's voter intent guide.
(b) The county clerk must periodically review
duplicated ballots to ensure duplication is being conducted consistent with
Colorado law and Rule 18.4.
18.4.2 A resolution board must review the
original ballot and the duplicated ballot, and consult the Voter Intent Guide
if necessary, to ensure that each damaged ballot has been properly and
accurately duplicated.
18.4.3 In
order to match each damaged ballot to its corresponding duplicated ballot, the
resolution board must identify and mark each damaged and duplicated ballot with
the type of ballot and a unique number, similar to the following example: mark
the damaged ballot "Orig 0001," and the counterpart duplicated ballot "Dupe
0001."
18.4.4 The resolution board
must maintain a written log itemizing all damaged ballots that it duplicates.
The duplication log must include at least each damaged and duplicated ballot's
unique number, the date on which it was duplicated, the reason for duplication,
and the printed names and signatures of the members of the resolution
board.
18.4.5 A county clerk must
count duplicated ballots in the same manner as all other paper
ballots.
18.4.6 A county clerk must
batch duplicated ballots separately from all other ballots.
18.4.7 Before retention for storage, the
resolution board must deposit all duplicated ballots and duplication logs in a
sealable container that is clearly marked to identify its contents (e.g.,
"damaged ballots"). The county must maintain chain-of-custody and seal logs for
the damaged ballot container at all times during the statutory election records
retention period.
18.5 Ballot resolution.
18.5.1 A resolution board
must resolve all blank ballots and ballots with overvotes, write-in votes, and
ambiguous markings in accordance with the Secretary of State's Voter Intent
Guide.
18.5.2 Resolution of blank
ballots.
(a) A resolution board must examine
blank ballots to determine if the ballot is a true blank ballot or one that has
been marked in a manner or medium that was not detected by the voting system.
(b) If the ballot is truly blank,
the resolution board must record the ballot as a blank ballot in the voting
system's resolution application.
(c) If the ballot is marked in a manner or
medium that can be discerned by the resolution board but cannot be tabulated by
the voting system, the resolution board must resolve the ballot in the voting
system's resolution application in accordance with Rules 18.5.2(b) and
18.5.3.
18.5.3 Resolution
of write-in votes
(a) A resolution board must
resolve all write-in votes in accordance with the Secretary of State's Voter
Intent Guide.
(b) In counties using
voting systems featuring digital resolution capable of detecting voter markings
on or in a write-in line or area, and if the voter does not mark any of the
target areas in a particular contest, the resolution board must resolve during
initial adjudication the written name of an eligible write-in candidate as a
valid vote for that candidate even if the voter fails to mark the corresponding
target area.
(c) In counties using
voting systems that are not capable of detecting voter markings on or in a
write-in line or area if the corresponding target area is not also marked, and
if the voter does not mark any other target area in a particular contest, the
resolution board must count as valid votes for eligible write-in candidates
those instances in which the voter both marks the applicable target area and
writes in the name of a certified write-in candidate. During any recount, if
the number of undervotes in a ballot contest could change the outcome if
attributed to an eligible write-in candidate, votes for that candidate must be
counted whether or not the target area designating the selection of a write-in
candidate has been marked, provided that the number of candidates chosen does
not exceed the number permitted in that office.
18.5.3
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Colorado may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google
Privacy Policy and
Terms of Service apply.
