Counties across Colorado including Boulder offer behind-the-scenes tours to show how ballots get sorted
As we push forward to Election Day, it's not just getting busy at the ballot dropoff boxes in Colorado but behind the scenes. Layers of staff and security work to keep your ballot safe, and Boulder County wants to give voters the chance to see that process for themselves. Ahead of the election they're offering tours of where they're counting ballots and this year a record number of people are taking them up on it.
In her busiest season, County Clerk and Recorder Molly Fitzpatrick also hosts some of those tours. This year alone the office has welcomed more than 200 people to see the democratic process firsthand.
Along the tour, Fitzpatrick points out the machines and humans (of a mix of political parties) that sort your ballot. The group then moves to see where signatures are verified by bipartisan teams, and eventually sees how they're counted.
The tours aren't new to Boulder County, but the big crowds are as they see that record number of people sign up this year.
"Since 2020 we've actually, in some cases, doubled or quadrupled the amount of tours that we offer because we believe that this moment of time demands transparency," Fitzpatrick said, "We know that people have questions. We know that people have concerns about how the process works, and so we want people to feel comfortable coming into our environment if they have those questions or doubts."
Some of the questions she addresses include those about security, (especially following partially posted passwords on the Secretary of State's website). Fitzpatrick explained, "Throughout these operations, we have badged entry into secure areas. We have cameras running 24/7, everybody that works in this environment is background checked. And so we have these redundancies in place. And so if there is an issue in one area, then we have these other controls in place that can help mitigate and respond to those issues."
One voter sharing after the tour on Tuesday, "I have a lot more faith in it. Yeah, I never really doubted it, but it kind of confirmed all the faith that I had." Meanwhile another voter adding, "I feel like democracy is working, at least in Boulder County."
Meanwhile the county continues to welcome anyone to see the process for themselves.
"If you're someone who has questions or concerns and you have doubts about our elections, you are in the right place. We are going to proactively welcome you into this environment and make sure that you get your questions answered," Fitzpatrick said,
Voters that are interested in touring the Boulder County Elections Facility themselves can find more information on bouldercountyvotes.gov. Voters in other counties can check in with their county website to see if other tours are offered.
