Election experts invite Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams to discuss 2016, other issues

Williams is one of three secretaries of state participating in the 2016 roundtable discussion today hosted by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. He was invited by the commission.

"In 2016 the nation will be watching Colorado," Williams said. "We will be working closely with our county clerks to ensure that Colorado is ready for this pivotal election."

The roundtable begins at 12:30 p.m. Colorado time and will be webcast live. Election officials and the general public can also provide input by tweeting or sending comments or questions to @EACgov or #Bready16.

Some of the other states participating in the discussion include Florida, Iowa, Wisconsin, Nevada and Ohio. City and county election officials also are part of the panel.

In addition, Williams on Thursday and Friday will attend the Election Center's annual Joint Election Officials Liaison Committee Session (PDF). Among the items up for discussion on the agenda are statewide voter registration databases, voting system standards and voting issues with the U.S. Postal Service. The Colorado secretary of state in 2015 advised voters to drop off their ballots instead of mailing them because of certain delivery issues.

Organizers of the two-day session invited Williams to speak on the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, more commonly referred to as UOCAVA (pronounced U-OH-CAAV-UH.) Congress in 1986 passed the law, which requires that states and territories allow certain groups of citizens to register and vote absentee in elections for federal officials. It covers military voters and U.S. citizens living outside the United States.

Before becoming secretary of state a year ago, Williams was the El Paso County clerk and recorder. El Paso County handles more UOCAVA ballots than any other Colorado county. Of the 14,497 UOCAVA voters in Colorado, 2,327 are registered to vote in El Paso County, state election records show (PDF).

"I'm absolutely determined as Colorado's secretary of state that our men and women who protect this country have an opportunity to vote," Williams said. "That's why we worked with the General Assembly this last session to expand the rights of military and other overseas voters."

Also speaking at the event are Judd Choate, the elections director for the Colorado Secretary of State, and Amber McReynolds, the elections director for Denver. They were asked by event organizers to talk about Colorado's experience with National Change of Address or NCOA

Colorado law requires the Secretary of State's office to acquire the postal change-of-address list monthly and share it with each county. If the list shows an active voter has moved within the county, the clerk's office automatically updates the address of the voter. Those that move to a new county or another state receive a mailing asking that they update their address in the statewide voter registration database.

Colorado was the first state in the country to clean voter lists monthly using the NCOA.

"Colorado has some of the cleanest voter lists in the country," Choate noted. "This means counties save money on mailings, with fewer ballots sent to the wrong addresses."