8 CCR 1505-1-6 - [Effective until 1/7/2025] Election Judges
6.1
Appointment of election judges under section
1-6-104, C.R.S.
6.1.1 Except for a state primary election,
the county clerk must request an updated list of election judges from each
major party before each election the clerk conducts under the Uniform Election
Code. Each party must provide that list to the county clerk no later than 90
days before election day. For the state primary election, each party must
provide a list of election judges no later than the last Tuesday of April
preceding the election, as required by section
1-6-103, C.R.S.
6.1.2 No later than the Friday before
precinct caucuses, the clerk must provide each major party with an estimate of
the number of judges needed for each position and the general time commitment
required for each position for the upcoming primary, general, and odd-year
coordinated election. The clerk may update this estimate for each major party
prior to an election.
6.1.3 Except
for a state primary election, the county clerk must reasonably attempt to
exhaust the precinct caucus and updated list provided by the major parties by
the 90th day before an election. If, by the
90th day before an election, a major political party
fails to provide a sufficient list of election judges who are available for the
county to staff all of the election judge positions, dates, and times needed by
the county for that election, the county clerk may appoint additional major
party, minor party, or unaffiliated judges to fill any remaining positions. For
a state primary election, the county clerk may appoint additional major party,
minor party, or unaffiliated judges after reasonably attempting to exhaust the
precinct caucus list and list of election judges provided in accordance with
section 1-6-103, C.R.S.
6.1.4 When the county clerk is filling
election judge vacancies under section
1-6-113(1),
C.R.S., the clerk may choose from any of the available major party, minor
party, or unaffiliated judges.
6.1.5 The county clerk must provide a list of
election judges, including political party affiliations and assignments, if
known, to each appointing party no later than 35 days before election day. Upon
request by an appointing party, the clerk must provide a supplemental list no
later than seven days before the date on which the county will open its first
voter service and polling center.
6.1.6 The county clerk may not ask an
election judge or county staff member to change his or her party affiliation to
achieve the bipartisan balance required under section
1-6-109, C.R.S.
6.1.7 The county clerk may not hire the
sheriff, current sheriff staff, or other personnel currently involved in the
day-to-day operations of a county jail or detention facility as an election
judge for the in-person voting event required by section
1-7.5-113.5(4)(a)(I),
C.R.S.
6.2 Assignment of
election judges.
6.2.1 The county clerk may
assign an election judge based upon appropriate skill level and interest. If a
major party objects to the initial election judge assignments provided by the
clerk under Rule 6.1.4, the political party may contact the clerk and nominate
judges for replacement. The clerk must consider the new nominations.
6.2.2 Prior to assigning an election judge to
perform signature verification, the county clerk must review any data available
from that judge's signature verification work in a previous election in the
same county. If the judge had an unexplained, irregular acceptance or rejection
rate the clerk may not assign that judge to conduct signature verification.
6.2.3 The county clerk may remove
or reassign an election judge performing signature verification at any time for
cause, which may include, but is not limited to:
(a) An inability to perform signature
verification;
(b) An inability to
serve for the requisite amount of time needed; or
(c) An irregular acceptance or rejection
rate, as determined by the county clerk.
6.3 The county clerk may not personally
conduct signature verification.
6.4
Except for UOCAVA ballots and ballots received for counting after election day:
6.4.1 Absent written consent by each major
party county chair, a county with 5,000 or more active electors on the
90th day before election day may not use regular
staff as signature verification judges.
6.4.2 A county with fewer than 5,000 active
electors on the 90th day before election day may use
regular county staff that are sworn in as election judges to conduct signature
verification.
6.5 For
purposes of training election judges, an "election cycle" means all elections
held during a calendar year beginning January 1 and ending December
31.
6.6 In lieu of the oath for
other election judges prescribed in section
1-6-114, C.R.S., each student
election judge must take a self-affirming oath or affirmation before serving,
in substantially the following form:
" I, ________________ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am a citizen of the United States and state of Colorado; that I am at least 16 years of age and a High School Junior or Senior; that I will perform the duties of an election judge according to law and to the best of my ability; that I will studiously strive to prevent fraud, deceit, and abuse in conducting the same; that I will not try to determine how any elector voted, nor will I disclose how any elector voted if in the discharge of my duties as a student election judge such knowledge shall come to me, unless called upon to disclose the same before some court of justice; that I have never been convicted of election fraud, any other election offense, or fraud and that, if any ballots are counted before the polls close on the date of the election, I will not disclose the result of the votes until after the polls have closed."
6.7
Subject to the limitations provided in section
1-6-111, C.R.S., a county clerk may
appoint student election judges to complete any task assigned to any other
election judge. Student election judges must be considered as affiliated with a
party, or unaffiliated, as reflected in that student election judge's voter
registration record. If the student election judge is not registered to vote,
the student must be considered unaffiliated.
6.8 A supervisor judge in a voter service and
polling center must complete a training course conducted by the county clerk.
The Secretary of State must provide or approve the training content. Training
content which is approved by the Secretary of State is only valid for the
calendar year in which it is approved. A supervisor training approved in the
calendar year before a presidential primary is valid for the presidential
primary.
6.9 A signature
verification judge must successfully complete a training course conducted by
the county clerk prior to each election. The county clerk must use the
Secretary of State's provided training and may provide additional training. If
the county clerk provides their own training, it must be approved by the
Secretary of State each year before its first use. A signature verification
training approved in the calendar year before a presidential primary is valid
for the presidential primary.
6.10
The county clerk must inform the Secretary of State's office within two
business days, in writing, of the fact that an election judge has been removed
from duty under sections
1-6-119(2)-(4) and
1-6-120, C.R.S., by the county
clerk.
Notes
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