Colorado pushes back on federal election monitors
The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office pushed back on the U.S. Department of Justice’s plans to send election monitors to Adams County on Election Day, telling the department it needs to request permission to access restricted parts of the voting process.
In a letter to the Department of Justice, Deputy of Secretary of State Andrew Kline said Thursday that any observers would need to apply and get approval from the Secretary of State’s Office to have access to “non-public elections spaces” under recently updated election rules. That includes areas where mail ballots are processed and voter signatures on mail ballots are verified, office spokesperson Jack Todd said.
Anyone allowed to act as an observer would be given a letter outlining which areas they would be allowed to access and observe, Kline said. Under election rules, he said they would be barred from touching or handling voting equipment, communicating with voters or taking photos, video or audio of any election activities.
The Department of Justice notified election officials in both Adams and Douglas counties on Wednesday that it planned to send election observers to their counties but later said the Douglas County notice was a mistake.
Voters in Democratic-leaning Adams County will help decide the outcome of a U.S. House race that could help determine which party controls Congress. U.S. Rep. Gabe Evans, a Republican, is facing Democratic challenger Manny Rutinel in the 8th Congressional District.
The Justice Department did not notify Republican-leaning Weld County that it was sending election observers to its polling places, Weld County Clerk Carly Koppes said. Part of Weld County is in the 8th District.
Adams County was chosen to have election monitors because of a provision in the Voting Rights Act that requires it to have ballots printed in both English and Spanish, Department of Justice spokesperson Kiersten Pels said in an email. She did not elaborate on that.
“All monitors must meet the same legal and ethical requirements, including that they not interfere with the voting process. Every monitor has the same role: observe for potential violations of federal law and report concerns to the Department, which the Department will review after Election Day and act where appropriate,” Pels said. She said the work was consistent with “longstanding practice.”
Adams County previously had Department of Justice observers at an election because of its bilingual ballots, Adams County Clerk Josh Zygielbaum said. But this time he thinks the move is an “intimidation attempt” since the notice didn’t say anything about trying to help and because observers are not going to Weld County. He noted that the attorney who notified him about the observers works in the trial division of the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division. He said that suggests to him that the DOJ is looking for problems.
“I think they’re looking for something wrong. Should the wrong person in their opinion win, I think they could be trying to set up a lawsuit,” Zygielbaum said.
The Colorado Democratic Party criticized the move and urged voters to stay calm and vote early.
“Colorado voters will not be intimidated by Donald Trump’s Department of Justice. Our election system is the gold standard for accurate and safe elections, and our voter protection team is prepared to ensure that remains the case through the 2026 election and beyond,” party chair Shad Murib said in a statement.
