Counting votes in a pandemic is an even more deliberate process

Counting votes is a careful process to start with, but in a pandemic there is more than politics at stake. Health concerns over the coronavirus changed the look and procedures of in-person voting and behind-the-scenes processing during the primary election. New safety protocols and robust voter participation have added to the workload of approximately 100 people who work on elections for the Boulder County Clerk and Recorder.

The county made changes to its main office in Boulder where ballots are processed, adding additional handwashing stations, a bathroom, and plexiglass between people who have to work as a team. Everyone is wearing face coverings, distancing from one another, working in shifts, and there is no more dashing around to different parts of the building. Each person is restricted to one floor to reduce contact between multiple people. "Obviously, the safety steps are slowing down ballot processing to a degree," said Mircalla Wozniak, Communications Specialist for Boulder County.

Ballots that were mailed or deposited in drop-off at boxes were processed starting 15 days before the Tuesday, June 30 deadline. Those results were the first to be reported after the polls closed. In any election, the earlier ballots come in, the better for election officials. But it was especially helpful this year with the new safety protocols.

Each ballot goes through a gauntlet before it is tallied. It starts with a sorting machine that groups together similar ballots, like all those from Longmont who are voting on the same races. Then signatures on the envelope are digitally scanned using the same signature verification software that banks use. If a signature is not verified by the machine, a captured image is sent to a team of bi-partisan election officials who are trained to spot discrepancies.

Officials compare it to the signature the voter used when they registered to vote and, if they have a local voting record, compare it to the voter's previous signatures. If there is still an issue, a letter is sent to the voter who has eight days to respond before their vote can be counted.

Once a signature is accepted, the person is given a vote credit. After that, a different machine separates the voter from their ballot. It puffs up the envelope so the ballot can be easily removed, preserving anonymity.

Next, bipartisan election judges flatten ballots and make sure they're filled out properly. Problems come up when someone has made a checkmark or an X instead of filling in the entire circle, or if a voter used a pen that was anything other than black or blue. Election judges do their best to figure out what the voter meant to do.

After a ballot passes inspection, a digital scanner captures the votes and stores them in a secure computer system that isn't connected to the internet or networked outside the building. No results reports are run until election day.

These steps are part of every election, but this time they happened with people behind masks and wearing gloves.

Colorado has the perfect system for a pandemic with vote-by-mail, but that was already popular before the coronavirus. Wozniak said that about 90% to 95% of Boulder County voters send their ballot through the mail or put it in a drop box. "There is a very small percentage of people who want to or need to vote in person. There is always a cohort of people who are moving. People didn't realize in time to have a mail ballot re-sent to them. It's been a pretty standard number," Wozniak said.

Some people just like the ritual of showing up. One voter at the Longmont polling place said he voted in person "because he always has." He had the place to himself, gliding past floor decals that showed people how to line up for proper social distancing. Without a crowd to manage, they became cheerful green decorations.

There were also people who dribbled in to register and vote; Colorado allows people to do both in the same day. Others came to use the accessible equipment that is designed for people with disabilities and some showed up to get a replacement ballot.

The county offered a new service for people picking up a ballot. The voter called ahead and ordered a ballot-to-go, setting an arrival time. They were instructed to call when they got there so that an election judge could hand deliver the ballot to their car.

Three polling places were open for the primary, but the office will have as many as 18 for the general election. It was good practice for the much higher turnout that is expected in the fall. Lisa Goodman is a lead election judge who said there were new faces working with her in Longmont.

"We have quite a few people that, for various circumstances, did not want to be participating in this election. They might have older parents, they are older themselves," Goodman said. "So we're working with a majority of new judges, which is not bad because they are prepping already for November."

The new judges saw fewer people than in healthy voting years according to Goodman, but they had more tasks than before. Judges had to sanitize desks, plexiglass and voting stations after each voter. Before each shift, they had to have their own temperature taken, earning a green sticker on their name badge for having a normal reading.

In-person voting may have been slow, but overall participation was high. By the end of the day on Friday, there were 25,000 more ballots returned than on the same day in 2018.

This was the first year that some 17-year-olds could vote in the primary. A new Colorado law allowed them to participate if they are turning 18 by the general election on Nov. 3. Wozniak said Boulder County was one of the best in the state for turning out the new, young voters during the presidential primary in March.

County election officials plan to further refine their pandemic practices so they can carry out the vital task of making sure everyone can vote safely and securely.