Nearly 40% of Colorado's local election officials are new since 2020

Over the last four years, local election offices have seen an exodus of top officials.

According to the Bipartisan Policy Center, there's been 36% turnover nationwide, compared to 20 to 30% before 2020. In Colorado, it's even higher at nearly 40%. The increased departures coincide with an increase in political violence.

Last month, the U.S. Attorney's Office charged Teak Brockbank of Cortez after uncovering social media posts where federal prosecutors say he called for the execution of Colorado election officials allegedly posting, "these people have to hang by the neck till they are Dead Dead Dead."

The FBI says Brockbank also issued threats against federal law enforcement and judges, including the Colorado Supreme Court judges who voted to bar former President Donald Trump from the state's ballot last December, allegedly texting his stepfather that "their names have been added to my list... their names have been moved to the front of my list."

"I never thought in my multiple years in elections that threats and attacks would be aimed at such a personal level," says Weld County Clerk Carly Koppes.

She says she's received dozens of threats over the last four years calling her a "demon," "whore," and "hag" and warning of a "blade to the neck" and "feathers, tar and rope." One caller said she "deserved to be gang raped," Another said she "deserved to burn," And she received a letter saying, "you may be next."

"It's not going to deter me. I'm still going to be strong. I'm not easily intimidated," Koppes says.

But many election officials are calling it quits. Analysis by CBS News found that 25 of Colorado's 64 counties have lost at least one top-level local election official since 2020, meaning 39% of those overseeing the presidential election this year are new to their job. While many have a background in elections, the state has seen a net loss of 126 years of election experience.

Koppes admits it's concerning: "There's been a significant amount of institutional knowledge that's left, which has been definitely unfortunate." 

And it could get worse. A survey by the Reed College Elections and Voting Information Center found a third of local election officials feel unsafe at work.

"As the public, we need to stand up and say this is not okay, and no longer tolerate any type of violence," says Pam Anderson.

She's worked in elections for more than 20 years as Jefferson County Clerk, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks' Association and now an elections consultant with Consilium Colorado, helping officials fight the lies and conspiracies.

"There's a lot of steel in the backbones of these election officials under threats, even from their own commissioners," she said.

In Park and Custer Counties, emails show commissioners have tried to oust clerks who refuse to hand count ballots, despite providing no evidence of machines being hacked.

"You have transparency boards, you have audit boards, you have counting boards, you have the community doing signature verification," says Anderson. "It is not a single person pulling levers back there."

She says former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters has helped sow doubt and distrust. Peters was convicted last month of four felonies for tampering with election equipment in an attempt to undermine the validity of the 2020 election.

"It was a sense of betrayal to the profession, and luckily the exception," says Anderson. "It is not a partisan job." 

But she says it is an increasingly complex job, which she says has contributed to the high turnover: "It's become an (information technology) job, it's become cybersecurity, it's become public outreach, it's crisis communications, technology. So, what's really important? Training, education, and support for our local election officials."

She says Colorado is fortunate in that it has a strong County Clerks' Association that mentors new election hires.

Koppes suggests that without the support, the state would likely see more turnover.

"I'm so thankful for every single one of my clerks and recorders across the state," she said. "We are all coming together. We know we have each other's back. We know if one person is going through it, we're all going to rally around them. And so, having that network, having that support, especially approaching and going through this year, in my opinion, has been invaluable."

In an effort to counter misinformation and disinformation, many Colorado county clerks are inviting the public into their election offices to show them how the process works.

Anderson says we owe a debt of gratitude to clerks like Koppes who stay, despite the threats, because they are committed to protecting democracy, "Next time you see a county clerk, I encourage you to thank them for the work they're doing."