On Monday, Oct. 28, Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Molly Fitzpatrick reviewed the county’s ballot processing procedures ahead of the Nov. 5 general election. All ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, and counting will begin that night, continuing for up to three days. The final ballots will be scanned by Nov. 13, the last day for voters to “cure” ballots with signature discrepancies or missing signatures and the deadline for receiving overseas ballots.
Results will be posted at approximately 7:30 p.m., 8:45 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. on election night, with further updates at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 6, Nov. 7, and the final update on Nov. 14. Because posting results requires pausing other processes, the county releases results in intervals to avoid slowing ballot processing.
From now until Election Day, the county will update the total ballots received each morning at 7 a.m. This allows voters to compare the number of ballots received to the election night results page and estimate how many ballots remain to count. Keep in mind, however, that some ballots may be rejected, so the final count may differ slightly.
Ballots can be rejected if two election judges from different parties agree that a signature is missing or doesn’t match, or if ID information is missing. Ballots may also be rejected if the envelope contains one from a previous election. Voters with signature issues have until Nov. 13 to cure their ballots. The state provides TXT2Cure, a system to help voters complete this process, and voters will also receive a letter with instructions if their ballot is rejected.
On Nov. 13, officials will also process additional ballots requiring special handling, including those with water damage and those held for voter anonymity — 690 ballots, three per precinct —as well as about 1,500 Voter Information Protection ballots from small districts, counted later to protect voter privacy.
