Explanation of the Rules
From Boulder City Attorney, Tom Carr (2Jun2020):
On Saturday, the Secretary of State announced rules for mail and email signatures on petitions. The rules can be found at:https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/rule_making/files/2020/20200530ElectionsNoticeTempAdopSBSJ.pdf
The following is a brief summary:
- Proponents must submit and have approved by the Secretary of State a form for mail or email signatures.
- Proponents may circulate both in person and remotely.
- Email or mail signatures must be “wet.”
- Email or mail signatures must be witnessed by a registered voter who is not the collector.
- The witness may either do so in person or remotely through an audio visual system that allows the witness to see the person signing.
- If the witness acts remotely, the signer must send by mail or electronic means the signed petition to the witness who must then affix a wet signature and return it to the signer.
- The witness must sign an affidavit stating that the signature is of the person identified, that the person signing is a registered voter and the witness saw the signer sign.
- The proponent must designate a collector and a transcriber.
- The collector is responsible for sending and receiving remotely signed petitions.
- The collector must sign an affidavit.
- The collector affidavit must be sent to a notary to notarize.
- The transcriber is responsible for transcribing the information on the remote petitions onto petition forms.
- The transcriber must bundle the transcribed petitions with the original signature pages for submission to the Secretary of State.
- The transcriber must sign a transcriber affidavit for each section.
- The proponent must indicate which sections were circulated in person and which were circulated by mail or email.
- Petitions and any cure must be submitted no later than August 3, 2020.
- Any section that does not comply with the rules can be rejected.
- Faulty affidavits can be cured.
- The Secretary of State will compare signatures to those in the voter database.
Tom Carr
Boulder City Attorney
(303) 441-3020
(pronouns: He/Him/His