Pueblo mayoral candidate claims lack of secrecy sleeve leaves November ballots vulnerable

PUEBLO, Colo. (KRDO) -- One Pueblo mayoral candidate is sounding the alarm after ballots were being sent out to voters without the typical "secrecy" sleeve. However, election officials are pushing back on these claims - stating they were checked by the state and are safe.

Mayoral candidate Heather Graham claims without the sleeve, a hole in the envelope lines up with bubbles a voter selects when voting for mayor. She theorized that hole could allow someone to mark an already turned-in ballot.

"Anybody could take a pen and fill in an additional hole and the vote will not be counted in total," said Graham.

According to the explainer that's on ballots, if someone were to select more than one candidate by accident, they're asked to correct it by drawing a bold line through the oval and the candidate's name marked by mistake. Then, fill in the oval next to the correct name.

Graham said in the past, voters were provided the secrecy sleeve to protect their ballots. However, the Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder's Office said those sleeves are not required, and the current design of the ballots is in compliance with state law.

The Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder's Office went on to say, "The hole will not reveal the choices citizens make on the ballot."

Pueblo's Clerk and Recorder said voters can also wrap their instruction page around their ballot or fold it differently to get "extra security."

Still, Graham and others are asking for the ballots to be reprinted.

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