Gessler releases Accountability in Colorado Elections site
Denver, Colorado, July 30, 2014 - Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler today released the Accountability in Colorado Elections (ACE) site. ACE is a series of interactive maps, charts and tables of Colorado election data by county. Though the data is public, obtaining much of it would have previously required contacting each of the state's 64 counties individually.
"As taxpayers and voters, Coloradans deserve insight into how their government conducts elections," Gessler said. "The 2013 election cost almost $7.5 million to administer. But there has never been a single place to see how all that money is spent. ACE does just that. Transparency is the best way to ensure public money is spent as efficiently as possible."
"We’ve taken publicly available data and put it into a digestible format for everyone to see," Gessler continued. "Colorado is a national leader in elections and this groundbreaking disclosure keeps us at the forefront of transparency, setting the bar for other states to follow."
Much of the information on the site centers around the statewide election that takes place each November--the initial data on the site references the November 2013 election. Other information, such as monthly voter registration statistics, are updated more regularly. The site presents data in four major topic areas:
Vote methods and ballot statistics - types of ballots issued and receipt statistics.
Legal requirements and other activities - county compliance with legal requirements and participation in recommended activities.
Election cost statistics - gross and net elections costs provided by counties.
Voter registration statistics - voter registration statistic totals by month.