Colorado Secretary of State launches language assistance hotline
DENVER, Colo. (KRDO) -- Beginning next Monday, Oct. 17, Colorado voters can call the Secretary of State's Language Assistance Hotline for assistance with interpreting their ballot.
According to the Secretary of State's Office, the new hotline will allow Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, or Vietnamese speakers to receive real-time translation of their ballot content from a live interpreter. Additional languages are also available for interpretation upon request.
“Voting should be accessible to every Colorado voter,” said Secretary Griswold. “The new Language Assistance Hotline does exactly that by assisting Colorado citizens who may only speak or read limited English with live ballot interpretation.”
To access the hotline, voters may call the Secretary of State’s Office directly at 303-860-6970 and a staff member at the Department will connect with an interpreter to assist with translating the content of the ballot. In 2022, the hotline is available to voters for the General Election beginning Monday, October 17, 2022, through Election Day, Tuesday, November 8, 2022. From October 17-November 4 the Hotline will be available during regular business hours, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. MT. On Monday, November 7 and Election Day, Tuesday, November 8, the Hotline will be available from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.
According to the Secretary of State's Office, per Colorado statute,
interpretation services may only be provided for interpretation of the ballot content, and not on Bluebook content or to describe the measures. This includes providing instruction guidance on completing the ballot, such as:
- how to fill in ovals or make corrections,
- how to properly put the ballot in the ballot envelope and sign
- how to return the ballot by mail, drop box, or Voter Service and Polling Center
For important voting information, Coloradans can visit: GoVoteColorado.gov
