(1) The department of revenue, through its local driver's license examination facilities, shall provide each eligible elector who applies for the issuance, renewal, or correction of any type of driver's license or for an identification card pursuant to part 3 of article 2 of title 42, C.R.S., an opportunity to complete an application to register to vote, which application provides the information required under this part 2.
(2) (a) An applicant who wishes to complete an application for registration must provide the information required by section 1-2-204 with the exception of the information required by section 1-2-204 (2)(f.3). The applicant shall also sign the self-affirmation required by section 1-2-205.
(b) The application for registration shall not require any information that duplicates information required in the driver's license portion of the form other than a second signature or other information necessary to assure that the applicant meets the eligibility requirements for registration. The application may require only the minimum amount of information necessary to prevent duplicate voter registrations and enable the county clerk and recorder to assess the eligibility of the applicant and to administer voter registration and other parts of the election process.
(c) The application shall include a statement that, if an applicant declines to register to vote, the fact that the applicant has declined to register will remain confidential and will be used only for voter registration statistics purposes, and a statement that, if an applicant does register to vote, the office at which the applicant submits a voter registration application will remain confidential and will be used only for voter registration statistics purposes.
(d) Applications and changes must be forwarded on a weekly basis, or on a daily basis during the last week prior to any election conducted by the county clerk and recorder, to the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the applicant resides.
(e) The department of revenue, through its local driver's license examination facilities, shall notify a program participant, as defined in section 24-30-2103 (9), C.R.S., who submits a current and valid address confidentiality program authorization card of the provisions of section 24-30-2108 (4), C.R.S., and inform the participant about how he or she may use a substitute address, as defined in section 24-30-2103 (14), C.R.S., on the driver's license or identification card.
(3) Upon receipt of an application, the county clerk and recorder shall determine if the application is complete. If the application is complete, the applicant shall be deemed registered as of the date of application. If the application is not complete, the county clerk and recorder shall notify the applicant, stating the additional information required. The applicant shall be deemed registered as of the date of application if the additional information is provided at any time prior to the actual voting.
(4) (Deleted by amendment, L. 94, p. 1756, � 16, effective January 1, 1995.)
(5) The department of revenue and the secretary of state shall jointly develop an application form or process, and a change of name and address form or process, that allows an applicant wishing to register to vote to do so without duplicating any information required for the issuance, renewal, or correction of the driver's license or identification card. Any such forms must be furnished to the local driver's license examination facilities by the department of revenue.
(6) (a) Any registered elector who informs a driver's license examination facility of a change of name or address must have notice of the change of name or address forwarded by the driver's license examination facility to the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the elector resides.
(b) The county clerk and recorder of the county in which the elector resides shall change the registration record of the elector to reflect the change of name and address, mark the registration record as active, and send to the elector's address of record, by forwardable mail, notice of the change and a postage paid pre-addressed return form by which the elector may verify or correct the information.
(c) If the elector returns the form described in subsection (6)(b) of this section and indicates that the change was in error, the appropriate county clerk and recorder shall immediately correct the elector's previously updated information in the statewide voter registration database.
(7) No information relating to the failure of an applicant for a driver's license to sign a voter registration application may be used for any purpose other than voter registration statistics.
Source: L. 92: Entire article R&RE, p. 648, � 2, effective January 1, 1993. L. 93: (1) and (2) amended, p. 1398, � 17, effective July 1. L. 94: (1) amended, p. 2542, � 7, effective January 1, 1995; (2), (4), and (6) amended and (7) added, p. 1756, � 16, effective January 1, 1995. L. 96: (2)(c), (2)(d), and (7) amended, p. 1736, � 13, effective July 1. L. 97: (2)(d) amended, p. 472, � 6, effective July 1. L. 2004: (5) amended, p. 191, � 1, effective August 4. L. 2007: (2)(e) added, p. 1699, � 1, effective July 1. L. 2010: (1) amended, (HB 10-1116), ch. 194, p. 829, � 2, effective May 5. L. 2011: (2)(e) amended, (HB 11-1080), ch. 256, p. 1123, � 4, effective June 2. L. 2013: (2)(e) amended, (HB 13-1300), ch. 316, p. 1661, � 1, effective August 7; (2)(a) amended, (HB 13-1135), ch. 184, p. 678, � 4, effective January 1, 2014. L. 2016: (1), (2)(a), (2)(d), (5), and (6) amended, (SB 16-142), ch. 173, p. 569, � 11, effective May 18. L. 2018: (2)(a) and (6) amended, (SB 18-233), ch. 262, p. 1604, � 5, effective May 29.
Editor's note: This section is similar to former � 1-2-212.5 as it existed prior to 1992.
1-2-213.3. Transfer of new voter registration records from department of revenue. (1) (a) In addition to the requirements of section 1-2-213 for registered electors, the department of revenue shall provide to the secretary of state, on a schedule established by the secretary of state, electronic records containing the full name, date of birth, residence address, deliverable mailing address if different from the residence address, county of residence, citizenship information for, and an electronic copy of the signature of each unregistered elector and each person eligible to preregister in accordance with section 1-2-101 (2) who provides a document that demonstrates United States citizenship and who applies for the issuance, renewal, or correction of any type of driver's license or identification card pursuant to part 3 of article 2 of title 42; except that the department of state shall not use the record of an individual who applies for or renews an identification document under part 5 of article 2 of title 42 or the record of a person who is a program participant in the Address Confidentiality Program Act, part 21 of article 30 of title 24, for voter registration purposes.
(b) The department of revenue shall continue to offer any person not registered to vote pursuant to subsection (2) of this section an opportunity to register to vote pursuant to section 1-2-213, unless they have provided documentation demonstrating a lack of United States citizenship.
(2) Upon receiving an electronic record for an individual who provided documentation that confirmed his or her citizenship and contains the minimum information to register the individual to vote, the secretary of state shall provide the information to the county clerk and recorder of the county in which the person resides. Upon receipt of a record, the county clerk and recorder shall determine if the record is complete for the purposes of voter registration.
(3) If the record is complete for purposes of voter registration or preregistration, the county clerk and recorder shall send to the person's address of record, by nonforwardable mail:
(a) If the record is for an eligible elector, notice that the elector has been registered to vote and a postage paid pre-addressed return form by which the elector may:
(I) Decline to be registered as an elector; or
(II) Affiliate with a political party; and
(b) If the record is for a person eligible to preregister under section 1-2-101 (2), notice that the person has been preregistered and will be automatically registered upon turning eighteen years of age, and a postage paid preaddressed return form by which the person may:
(I) Decline to be preregistered; or
(II) Affiliate with a political party.
(4) If the record is not complete, the county clerk and recorder shall send to the person's address of record, by nonforwardable mail, notice that the person has not been registered or preregistered to vote and stating the additional information required to register or preregister. If the person provides the additional information, the person is registered or preregistered to vote effective as of the date of the person's application with the department of revenue. If the person does not provide the additional information necessary to make his or her application complete and accurate within twenty-four months after the notification is mailed pursuant to this subsection (4), the person's registration is canceled.
(5) A notice mailed under subsection (3) of this section must include an explanation, in both English and Spanish, of the eligibility requirements to register or preregister to vote, and a statement that, if the person is not eligible, the person should decline to register using the preaddressed return form.
(6) The notice provided under subsection (3) of this section must include a statement that, if the person declines to register or preregister to vote, the fact that the person has declined will remain confidential and will be used only for voter registration statistics purposes, and a statement that, if a person remains registered or preregistered to vote, the office at which the person was registered or preregistered will remain confidential and will be used only for voter registration statistics purposes.
(7) (a) (I) If a notice provided under subsections (3) and (4) of this section is returned as undeliverable within twenty days after the county clerk and recorder mails the notice, the person's registration or preregistration is canceled and the person is deemed to have never registered or preregistered. If the notice is returned as undeliverable after twenty days after the county clerk and recorder mails the notice, the person's registration or preregistration is marked inactive.
(II) Notwithstanding subsection (7)(a)(I) of this section, if a person votes in an election after the transfer of the person's record but before the notice is returned as undeliverable, the person's registration shall not be canceled or marked inactive.
(b) If a notice provided under subsection (3) of this section is not returned within twenty days, the person is registered or preregistered as of the date of the person's application at the department of revenue and the person shall be marked as unaffiliated.
(c) If a person returns the form provided under subsection (3) of this section and declines to be registered or preregistered, including if the person returns the form and both declines to be registered or preregistered and also affiliates with a party, the person's registration or preregistration is canceled and the person is deemed to have never registered or preregistered; except that, if the person has voted in an election, the return form is of no effect and the person remains registered as of the date of the person's application with the department of revenue.
(d) If a person returns the form provided under subsection (3) of this section and affiliates with a party, the person is registered or preregistered as of the date of the person's application with the department of revenue and the person's affiliation shall be marked effective as of the date the affiliation information was received.
(e) If a person returns the form without marking either the option to decline or the option to affiliate with a party, the returned form is of no effect. The person is registered or preregistered as of the date of the person's application with the department of revenue and shall be marked as unaffiliated.
(8) After the twenty-day period described in subsection (7) of this section passes, the registration information of a person registered pursuant to this section, including the fact that the person was registered through a voter registration agency, becomes a registration record that must be maintained and made available for public inspection in accordance with section 1-2-227. Information relating to the return of a notice form by a person declining to be registered or preregistered and information relating to the specific agency at which a person was registered pursuant to this section is not a public record subject to public inspection and shall not be used for any purpose other than voter registration statistics.
(9) This section does not preclude the state from complying with its obligations under the federal National Voter Registration Act of 1993, 52 U.S.C. sec. 20501 et seq., as amended; the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, 52 U.S.C. sec. 10101 et seq., as amended; the federal Help America Vote Act of 2002, 52 U.S.C. sec. 20901 et seq., as amended; or any other applicable federal laws.
Source: L. 2019: Entire section added, (SB 19-235), ch. 329, p. 3048, � 1, effective July 1, 2020. L. 2020: (7)(a)(I) amended, (HB 20-1402), ch. 216, p. 1040, � 1, effective June 30. L. 2021: (8) amended, (SB 21-250), ch. 282, p. 1633, � 5, effective June 21.
1-2-213.5. State institutions of higher education - electronic voter registration option - information to students. (1) (a) Any state institution of higher education, as defined in section 23-1-108 (7)(g)(II), C.R.S., that utilizes an electronic course registration process shall provide to each student registering electronically for courses at the institution the opportunity to register to vote by giving each student the option to be electronically directed to the official website of the secretary of state so that he or she may register in accordance with section 1-2-202.5. The option shall be provided to students either during or immediately following the electronic registration period for each term or semester.
(b) Each state institution of higher education subject to paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) shall implement the electronic voter registration option as soon as practicable, but not later than the next regularly scheduled maintenance to its electronic course registration system process.
(c) Each state institution of higher education subject to subsection (1)(a) of this section shall, during the first full week of each fall semester and during the last full week of each spring semester, provide by email to each enrolled student information on voter eligibility and on how to register to vote or update their voter registration information in the statewide voter registration database.
(2) A state institution of higher education that does not utilize an electronic course registration process shall provide to students information regarding how to register to vote, including, at a minimum, prominently posting such information in a clearly visible area of the institution's registrar's office.
Source: L. 2013: Entire section added, (HB 13-1147), ch. 122, p. 413, � 1, effective August 7. L. 2021: (1)(c) added, (SB 21-250), ch. 282, p. 1633, � 6, effective June 21.