El Paso County ensures secure voting ahead of election

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- The El Paso County Clerk and Recorder is working to ensure ballots are safe and secure with Election Day on November 2nd.

At an event Wednesday with the Colorado Springs Chamber & Economic Development Center, 65 local business representatives were able to get an inside look at how ballots are processed, and the security measures in place.

The event coordinators say opportunities like this are a great way to ease any worries community members may have about how their vote is counted.

“I think people are curious and wondering, and they have questions," said Chuck Broerman, El Paso County Clerk, and Recorder. "Questions are good. I believe I’ve talked to, individually, a thousand people over the last year, walking them through all layers of security. After a short conversation where I describe all the things we have in place, they feel like they’re in a much better place and secure and confident to vote."

Some of the many security measures include:

• Secure drop boxes equipped with video surveillance
• Bipartisan election teams that pick up and verify ballots
• Sealed transfer cases, signature verification
• Bipartisan judges that audit and certify election results.

"We have cameras throughout all our operations, cipher locks, all of our election judges have background checks, our equipment is not hooked up to the internet, either physically or wirelessly," said Broerman. "We have layers and layers of security. I could go on for hours talking about it."

Tours of the election process at the County Clerk and Recorder's Office are open to anyone that may have worries about the operations.

“I think the more that people can see with their own eyes the security processes that are in place, they’re not reading about something second or third hand, they can see that they have access to come down here and see exactly what’s happening with their ballots," said Rachel Beck, Vice President of the Colorado Springs Chamber & EDC.

For those still holding on to absentee ballots, all ballots should now be returned to one of the 38 drop boxes around the county to ensure it gets processed in time. To find a drop box near you, click here.

Due to delays with the Postal Service, a mailed ballot may show up late.

If you're voting in person, Voter Service and Polling Centers are open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m