Voters are able to add a ballot address to their voter registration record if they will be temporarily away from home when ballots are mailed. Before every election, Douglas County Elections contacts voters who have a temporary ballot address on file to confirm that this is the correct address, allowing voters to update their record before their ballot is mailed.
Douglas County Elections contacts all Uniformed and Overseas Citizens (UOCAVA) to confirm their address, ballot delivery method, and UOCAVA status. UOCAVA voters are notified again just before their ballot is sent so they know to expect it and may contact the Elections office if there are any delivery issues.
Douglas County Elections contacts voters with a registration record marked as ID Required or Inactive to provide them the opportunity to update their voter record prior to ballots being mailed.
A county may not remove a voter’s registration record unless it receives written notice from that voter, or all of the following occur: The county receives other information that that voter’s residence has changed AND the voter fails to respond to a notice from the county regarding the change in residence AND the voter fails to vote in two consecutive general elections after the county’s notice.
A county must cancel the registration records of voters who are currently serving sentences of incarceration for a felony conviction. Each month the Colorado Department of Corrections provides the Secretary of State’s office with a list of people currently incarcerated for a felony conviction. In addition, the Colorado U.S. Attorney’s office sends the Secretary of State’s office quarterly notices of individuals who have been convicted of a felony.
A county may cancel a voter’s record upon receiving information that the voter has died. In Colorado, the Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) provides the Secretary of State’s office with a monthly list of people who died. The Secretary of State’s office also has access to the Social Security Death Index, which is imported into the statewide voter registration database monthly for counties to review and cancel voter records as necessary.
Colorado counties proactively update voter’s registration information based on information in the National Change of Address (NCOA) database. Voter registration data is compared with NCOA data each month. Counties use the monthly data to update the records of voters who have moved within the state, and if a voter has moved out of state, the county marks the voter’s record “inactive” so the voter will not receive a ballot in the mail.
When processing updates to a voter’s record, the statewide voter registration database automatically checks for previously canceled or withdrawn voter records. This ensures that existing voter records are updated so the voter’s history remains in a single record and no duplicate records are created.
The Secretary of State’s office receives a nightly file from the Colorado Department of Revenue (CDOR) showing all people who either received a new driver’s license or updated their current address information. The Secretary of State’s office imports that information into the voter registration database and counties use the information to register voters or update existing voters’ records.
Douglas County Elections runs a daily Address Matching Practice (AMP) report to find any discrepancies between the voter registration list and the Douglas County Assessors’ Office database. For example, discrepancies in tax authorities and/or tax districts associated with a street address or inconsistencies in any component of a street address. Any discrepancies are corrected and the voter is contacted if additional information is needed. In addition, whenever a voter record update indicates an invalid address, such as listing a post office box as a residence address or omitting required address information, Douglas County Elections contacts the voter to correct the issue to ensure a complete and accurate voter registration record.
Douglas County Elections conducts data cleanup projects on a regular basis throughout the year. These cleanup projects include standardizing address formats and correcting invalid characters.
