Voter ID for mail voting qualifies for November ballot in Colorado

A proposal to require Colorado voters to present additional forms of identification for mail-in voting has qualified for the statewide ballot in November’s midterm elections.

Under the initiative, voters would need to include the last four digits of either their social security, driver’s license or Real ID numbers on the outside of their mailed ballots for their vote to count. If an election judge can’t confirm that the numbers match information stored in a state voter registration database, then the voter would either be contacted to correct the ballot or it would be rendered invalid.

Colorado is one of several states seeking to impose new voter ID measures this November. Unnecessary voter ID laws have been known to make voting more difficult for millions of people while also leading to errors that could disqualify otherwise eligible ballots.

The League of Women Voters of Colorado says the initiative is “a form of voter suppression” and is urging people to oppose it. The organization says the measure “will impede the ability of state legislators to address changing conditions.”

The pro-voting group also says it “creates more hoops” that could lead to rejected ballots and increases the workload for county clerks during the ballot-counting process.

The ballot initiative is supported by El Paso County Clerk Chuck Broerman, a Republican who in 2022 said that he and other clerks were being harassed with death threats by election deniers after officials certified Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

Colorado is also one of 30 states that the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) has sued for refusing to hand over private voter registration files, in Trump’s campaign to wrest control of elections from the states. 

On Aug. 4, U.S. District Judge Philip Brimmer dismissed the DOJ’s case against Colorado, saying the agency did not provide a sufficient reason for demanding the state’s voter rolls. The Trump administration has appealed the ruling despite losing 23 straight cases involving the DOJ’s request for states’ voter files.

Colorado is also among the states that sued the Trump administration over the U.S. Postal Service’s (USPS) new rule restricting mail voting. Under that rule, states would have to submit lists of voters to the USPS for confirmation on whether they will receive mail ballots. The rule is currently blocked by a temporary restraining order while a judge considers issuing a preliminary injunction, given the proximity to the midterm elections.

The judge who issued the restraining order has also previously ruled that Trump’s efforts to restrict mail voting are unconstitutional.

“Trump is trying to use the Postal Service to unlawfully limit which voters can receive mail ballots. He does not have the authority to change election rule or law,” said Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D), who is also running for the state’s attorney general office. “We will continue to fight against Trump’s unlawful attempts to control elections. Coloradans — and all eligible Americans — will have their voices heard in the 2026 midterm election.”