Watch live as Denver's Elections Division processes mail-in ballots
DENVER — In an effort to battle misinformation about the security of voting-by-mail, the City and County of Denver’s Elections Division is streaming a live, 24-hour video of ballots being received and processed.
Watch live here:
Many Coloradans have already received their ballots in the mail, and some have already voted.
The ballots were sent out on October 9. In order for ballots to count, voters must mail them in by October 26. Coloradans also have the option to vote in person; those votes must be cast by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, which is November 3. In Colorado, people can register to vote and also cast a vote on Election Day.
The camera in the live stream is not close enough to the ballots that viewers will be able to see any personal information on the envelopes.
The video shows five different stages of the process: ballot receiving, signature verification, ballot prep, ballot imprinting, and ballot counting.
According to the Associated Press, Denver’s Elections Division got the idea from the King County Elections Division in Seattle. That agency has hosted similar live videos since 2012. Washington and Colorado, along with Hawaii, Oregon, and Utah, are the states that already mailed ballots to all registered voters before the COVID-19 pandemic. California, Nevada, Vermont and New Jersey have since adopted similar models, and other states are allowing voters to decide if they want to receive a ballot in the mail.
An analysis from The New York Times found that at least 75% of all American voters will be able to receive a ballot in the mail. President Trump has repeatedly criticized universal voting-by-mail, saying it leads to voter fraud, but he has not provided any evidence to support those claims.
If you have any other questions about election security, both the Colorado Secretary of State’s office and Denver’s Elections Division have more resources on mail ballots.
