Eagle County Clerk & Recorder explains what voter information is public
EAGLE — The Eagle County Clerk & Recorder’s Office is fielding inquiries on voter records and confidentiality, following an announcement from the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office indicating the state will release publicly available voter information to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. By state law, this information is available to anyone who requests it and is expected to be provided to the advisory commission July 14.
Colorado county clerks and the state of Colorado are required to maintain certain information on registered voters. Some of this information is considered public record, while other information is private.
According to Eagle County Clerk & Recorder Regina O’Brien, private information includes any portion of a voter’s social security number, their driver’s license number, their full date of birth and their email address.
“This information will not be included in the voter information the Secretary of State will be providing to the Election Integrity Commission,” O’Brien said.
Data that is public record includes a voter’s full name, residential address, party affiliation, date of affiliation, gender, birth year, phone number if provided by the voter at registration and whether the voter has voted in prior elections.
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Residents can become “confidential voters” if there is belief the voter or a member of the voter’s household will be exposed to criminal harassment or bodily harm if the voter’s information is made publicly available. A confidential voter’s information will not be released to the public. To become a confidential voter, visit the Eagle County Clerk’s Office in person, fill out the voter confidentiality form and pay $5 by cash or check for the statutorily required processing fee. This will remove voter information from future lists but will not remove information from past editions already released.
Survivors of domestic violence, sexual offenses or stalking may also enroll in Colorado’s Address Confidentiality Program. Voters who are part of this program will not have any of their voter information released to the public.
Voters are reminded that even if they are listed on the national do not call list, political calls to voters are permitted under Colorado law. There is no complaint or removal process established for these types of calls. However, a voter can remove a phone number from their voter registration by visiting http://www.govotecolorado.com and updating registration information. This provides no guarantee that a voter’s phone number will not be obtained from other sources. For example, this will remove phone numbers from future voter lists but will not remove them from past lists released or from the phone directory.
For more information, email O’Brien at regina.obrien@eaglecounty.us.