Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams is considering amendments to Colorado’s Rules Concerning Elections (8 CCR 1505-1). The changes are intended to improve the administration and enforcement of Colorado election law and to increase transparency and security in the election process.

The main goals of the proposed rulemaking are to:

• Establish uniformity in the administration of current law;
• Clarify an acceptable government document for identification;
• Establish new rules concerning voter registration at county jails and ballot transmission to county jails and detention facilities,
• Organize existing rules for clarity;
• Simplify the language of existing rules; and
• Remove language that is duplicative of statute.

We invite you to share your thoughts and recommendations as we develop a preliminary draft of the proposed rules. Please review the attached working draft and proposals. 

Why does the Secretary need my help?

The Secretary values your feedback and we would very much like to hear your thoughts. We need your help to identify necessary revisions or additional guidance in order to propose a constructive and comprehensive draft rule for consideration during the rulemaking proceedings. Overall, we invite your opinions and recommendations to help shape Colorado’s Election Rules. 

How do I submit my comments and what is the deadline?

You may email your comments to SOS.Rulemaking@sos.state.co.us. To ensure consideration of your comments before we issue the proposed draft, we must receive your comments by 5:00 p.m. on May 2, 2018. 

Will my comments become part of the official record for the anticipated rulemaking?

Yes, we will incorporate your comments into the official record when we commence with formal rulemaking. Our office will identify your comments as information received in anticipation of rulemaking to support the development of the proposed draft rule. Please note that you will have an additional opportunity to provide testimony and/or written comments regarding the proposed rule during the rulemaking proceeding.

To promote transparency and to help generate discussion, our office will post a copy of your comments on the Secretary of State’s website. We appreciate privacy concerns and will redact apparent personal contact information from your comments prior to posting (including your home address, personal email address, and telephone number). To view the comments that we receive, visit: http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/rule_making/ruleComments.html