It's Election Day. Here’s how Colorado election officials make voting secure

It's Election Day in Colorado. And along with who wins or loses, something that a lot of people are thinking about today is election security.  

After all, elections are complicated: Millions of Colorado voters will fill out and turn in their ballots. And county election officials will gather and tally them – quickly.   

On top of that, some recent headlines have called Colorado’s election systems into question. Mesa County officials reported recently that someone stole 12 mail ballots and returned them. And news broke last week that the Colorado Secretary of State’s office accidentally posted some security passwords on their website. State officials say they’ve fixed that problem, and election systems around the state have not been compromised.   

Even so, we wanted to look at the steps that make sure your ballot is collected and counted securely. Two county clerks – people whose job is to keep ballots secure – walked us through some of Colorado’s election safeguards.  

ITN’s Erin O’Toole spoke with Molly Fitzpatrick, a Democrat from Boulder County, and Carly Koppes, a Republican from Weld County.

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Host and Producer: Erin O'Toole
Producer: Ariel Lavery
Executive Producer: Brad Turner

Theme music by Robbie Reverb
Additional music by Blue Dot Sessions
In The NoCo is a production of KUNC News and Community Radio for Northern Colorado.

What is In The NOCO?

KUNC's In The NOCO is a daily look at the stories, news, people and issues important to you. It's a window to the communities along the Colorado Rocky Mountains. The show explores the big stories of the day, bringing context and insight to issues that matter. And because life in Northern Colorado is a balance of work and play, we explore the lighter side of news, highlighting what makes this state such an incredible place to live.