Legislation will protect election workers and add safeguards to Colorado’s election system 

DENVER, CO – Today at 3pm MT, Governor Jared Polis will sign two bills into law that will strengthen and protect voting and elections in Colorado. The Election Official Protection Act and the Colorado Election Security Act are a major defeat for right-wing extremists who attempted to overturn the 2020 election. Earlier this year, Mesa County Clerk and Recorder Tina Peters was indicted for her role in providing unauthorized access to sensitive voting machines.

The Election Official Protection Act adds new protections for election officials so they may freely and fairly administer elections without threats of intimidation or harassment.

The Colorado Election Security Act adds new and upgrades existing security measures and protocols for state and county election systems. These updates will safeguard Colorado elections from all new and emerging threats, including internal ones. 

Statement of Cameron Hill, Colorado Common Cause Associate Director 

In Colorado, we believe the voters — and voters alone — determine the outcome of our elections.

But here and across the country, rogue partisans are targeting election officials and our system of voting in an attempt to send their preferred candidate to victory.

As political extremists work overtime to overturn the will of the people, they have targeted our election workers and our voting systems. They have tampered with, harassed, and intimidated all to ensure their preferred candidate is victorious on Election Day.

That’s not how elections work. Every voter—Democrat, Republican, and Independent—deserves to have their vote fairly counted.

These two bills will ensure every voter’s voice is heard at the polls and that our election workers can safely do their jobs and administer fair elections for every voter, regardless of political affiliation.

In Colorado, we believe our election officials have the right to administer our elections without intimidation or harassment. We believe our elections should be safe from interference of any kind, and now both of those ideas are the law of the land.

We thank Governor Polis and the bill sponsors for their continued commitment to protecting our elections and the officials who work tirelessly to ensure every vote is counted fairly.  

###