(Colorado Newsline) Colorado’s top election official encouraged voters to cast their ballots and highlighted Colorado’s election security at a press conference in Denver Monday ahead of the state primary election Tuesday.

“The Colorado election model is the best in the nation. Our system prioritizes voter access while maintaining the highest levels of security,” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said. “We work to protect our democracy for every eligible Coloradan regardless of where they live in the state, their political affiliation and the amount of money in their bank account.”

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As of Monday morning, 622,391 ballots had been returned statewide, including 108,405 in the 4th Congressional District, where voters will select a candidate to finish the term of former U.S. Representative Ken Buck, who resigned in March. Griswold said the special election in the 4th District is the first Congressional vacancy election in the state since 1983.

While statewide turnout is 2 percent lower than it was at this time during the 2022 elections, Griswold said turnout tends to catch up on Election Day. She said ballot access and what’s on the ballot can also affect turnout: While this year the only statewide race on the ballot is for an at-large University of Colorado regent, 2022 and 2020 both had U.S. Senate primaries.

Find general voting and election information here.

Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul López, who appeared with Griswold at the press conference, said clerks around the Denver metro area will work together to get ballots for their respective counties to the correct clerk’s office, meaning a voter registered in Jefferson County who works in Denver can submit their ballot in a Denver drop box. He emphasized that “it’s so easy to vote” in Denver and Colorado as a whole because people can turn their ballots in ahead of Election Day. López said the greatest threat to democracy is a lack of participation.

“Think about other states and other jurisdictions around the country that have to stand in line to be able to vote, and they can’t vote until that day,” López said outside the Cook Park Recreation Center. “Think about the sacrifices that so many people have made so that you and I can cast the ballot so easily … participate easily and support this democracy.”

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Voting centers are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, and voters can register and cast their ballots up until 7:00 p.m. Tuesday. Griswold said there are 415 ballot drop boxes across the state as well as 150 voting centers open for the state primary.

Griswold said while voters continue to cast their ballots through the mail, others still question the state’s election integrity because elected leaders push the “big lie” started by former President Donald Trump falsely claiming the 2020 election was rigged. She noted that former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters paid for a statewide recount after she lost the Republican primary in the secretary of state race in 2022. The state’s most prominent Republican, U.S. Representative Lauren Boebert, is a staunch Trump ally who has persistently cast doubt on the legitimacy of President Joe Biden’s win.

“Ultimately, we need elected officials and people in places of power to stop lying,” Griswold said. “I can’t control that. We all have to urge that, but we’re going to continue to do absolutely everything we can from my office and hope that Coloradans just continue to look toward trusted sources — whether it’s their Republican county clerks, their Democratic secretary of state — to get good information, accurate information about our elections.”

After the press conference, a bipartisan team of Denver Elections workers demonstrated how they securely empty ballot boxes and bring ballots back to be counted.

Griswold said election workers haven’t experienced threats of violence in the same way she and county clerks have. She said during the recent Trump 14th Amendment disqualification case, she received more than 900 death threats.

“We’ve taken the appropriate steps to be able to make sure that not only election workers, but also the voting public is safe when they actually cast a ballot, when they participate in our democracy,” López added. “There will always be threats, especially now, unfortunately. However, our election judges, our poll workers are steadfast. They don’t get intimidated. They believe in what they do.”

Colorado Newsline is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and X.