A proposed ballot initiative would force Colorado voters to write their Social Security or driver's license number on the outside of their mail ballot envelope. It exposes voters to identity theft, risks thousands of valid ballots being thrown out, and solves a problem that doesn't exist.
Defend Our Ballots is a nonpartisan Colorado 501(c)(4) coalition of voters, county clerks, civil rights advocates, and election experts. Our mission is simple: protect the mail ballot system Coloradans already trust. Making it harder to vote doesn't make elections safer.
This isn't a partisan issue. Republican and Democratic county clerks alike confirm it: Colorado's signature verification system is rigorous, accurate, and already working. Adding a new ID-number requirement won't improve security — it will only create new barriers and new risks.
A ballot initiative that adds a risky, unnecessary new barrier to a mail voting process Coloradans have relied on for over a decade.
Advance Colorado, a conservative advocacy organization, is pushing a ballot initiative that would require mail voters to write either the last four digits of their Social Security number or their driver's license number on the outside of their return envelope. No number, no ballot.
If a voter forgets, omits, or miscopies the number, their ballot won't count. The initiative does not guarantee a cure period or a reliable notification process. One small mistake costs a voter their voice.
Supporters call it "election integrity." The evidence says otherwise. Colorado already collects and verifies this exact information at registration, and signature verification is already among the most rigorous in the country. The proposal solves a problem that doesn't exist — and creates several real ones.
Colorado voters already provide this exact information — SSN or driver's license number — when they register, and the state already verifies it against DMV and Social Security records. Writing it again on an envelope adds zero new security. It only adds new risk: voter error, ballot rejection, and identity theft.
Forget the number, miscopy a digit, or skip the field — your ballot doesn't count. Elderly, disabled, and first-time voters are most exposed. Unlike a signature mismatch, which triggers a cure process, the initiative doesn't guarantee any recourse for a number error.
Return envelopes pass through hundreds of hands — postal carriers, sorting facilities, ballot-processing teams. Writing an SSN or driver's license number on an envelope clearly marked as a ballot is a flashing target for identity thieves. Discarded envelopes only widen the risk.
Older voters, rural voters, low-income voters, and voters with limited English proficiency rely most on mail ballots — and are most likely to be tripped up by a new, surprise requirement. The result: lower participation, with no security gain.
You already provided your SSN or driver's license number when you registered. The state already verified it. Colorado then checks every returned ballot with a signature match — a biometric tied to you alone. Writing a number on the envelope adds nothing but error and exposure.
Advance Colorado is a conservative advocacy organization that has backed multiple election-related ballot measures in recent cycles. This initiative follows a familiar pattern — labeling a new restriction "election integrity" without evidence of an actual problem. Coloradans deserve a factual debate about how their elections work, not solutions in search of a crisis.
The evidence is clear: Colorado's mail ballot system is secure, accurate, and one of the best in the country. Here's the data.
| Metric | Colorado | National Context |
|---|---|---|
| Overall election performance | Top 3 nationally | MIT Election Data & Science Lab — Elections Performance Index |
| Share of ballots cast by mail | ~94% of ballots | Universal mail since 2013 — among the highest rates in the country |
| Estimated mail ballot fraud rate | <0.001% of ballots | Vanishingly rare nationally per peer-reviewed research |
| Signature verification standard | Bipartisan two-examiner review | CO statute requires bipartisan agreement before rejecting any ballot |
| Voter participation | Consistently top 5 nationally | High turnout closely tracks accessible mail voting |
| Ballot cure process | Yes — voters notified with time to fix | Counties proactively contact voters; most issues resolved |
| ID verification at registration | SSN-last-4 or DL required & verified | Already on file — re-writing it on an envelope adds no security |
When your mail ballot comes back, county staff compare the signature on your envelope to the one on your voter registration — the same record where Colorado already verified your SSN or driver's license number.
If anything looks off, two trained examiners must independently agree before the ballot is set aside. No single reviewer can reject a ballot alone — a standard more rigorous than most states.
If your signature is flagged, state law requires your county to contact you in time to cure the ballot before the final count. Most voters resolve it well before results are certified.
The result: biometric verification (your unique handwriting), bipartisan review, and a voter-notification cure process. A number written on an envelope adds no real layer on top of that — a bad actor who has intercepted your ballot can copy a number as easily as the envelope.
What can't be copied is your handwriting. That's why signatures are the global gold standard in document authentication — and why Colorado's system has earned a national reputation for both security and accessibility. It works. There's nothing to fix, and a lot to lose.
Colorado's mail ballot system is under attack. Here's how you can defend it — most steps take under five minutes.
Add your name to our statewide petition opposing this proposal. Every signature tells legislators and initiative sponsors that Coloradans will defend their ballot access.
Call or email your state representative and senator. We'll send you a one-page talking-points guide with everything you need. Five minutes — and constituent calls move the needle.
Find My Rep →Share on social, forward this site to your network, or download our organizer toolkit — shareable graphics, one-pagers, and talking points for community events.
Join the team — canvassing, phone banks, event staffing, and voter outreach statewide. No experience required, just a commitment to protecting every Coloradan's vote.
Tell Colorado's elected officials: we stand with our proven mail ballot system. Oppose the Advance Colorado initiative.
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A Colorado 501(c)(4) coalition — voters, county clerks, civil rights advocates, and election experts — defending every Coloradan's right to vote through our proven mail ballot system.
Defend Our Ballots protects Colorado's mail ballot system — one of the most secure, accurate, and accessible in the country — against efforts that suppress voter participation without improving election integrity.
Our Story
Defend Our Ballots was founded in 2026 by Colorado voters, county election administrators, civil rights attorneys, and civic groups who recognized a coordinated pattern: ballot initiatives and bills designed to make voting harder, framed as "integrity" measures but unsupported by any evidence of an actual problem.
Colorado's universal mail ballot system — built since 2013 through bipartisan stewardship — produces some of the highest turnout in the country, earns national recognition for security and accuracy, and serves voters from Denver to the Western Slope to the San Luis Valley. That record deserves to be defended.
We are nonpartisan. Republican and Democratic clerks have both raised concerns. Voters across the political spectrum benefit from Colorado's mail system. Protecting the vote isn't a partisan cause.
Leadership
Our leadership team includes former county election directors, civil rights litigators, civic organizers, and community advocates with deep roots across Colorado. Board and staff information is available on request — contact us at the press address below.
Defending the vote takes resources — for legal work, voter education, earned media, and grassroots organizing in every corner of the state.
Every dollar goes directly to protecting Colorado voters: legal challenges, voter education, bipartisan coalition outreach, and getting the truth about our mail ballot system into every community in the state. The deadline matters. Ballot campaigns move fast — your gift today funds the work being done right now.
Prints and mails one voter-education piece to a rural household that may not have reliable internet access.
Funds one phone-banker shift, reaching 60–80 voters with the facts about the initiative and how to oppose it.
Supports a full day of community canvassing in a targeted county, plus materials and training for five volunteer canvassers.
Funds a week of earned-media outreach — press releases, expert sourcing, and editorial-board engagement in a targeted market.
Every contribution matters. Give what you can — every dollar goes directly to protecting Colorado voters' access to the ballot.
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For interview requests, expert sourcing, statements, or background on Colorado's mail ballot system, please complete the form below. Our communications team responds promptly to working press.
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How we use your information: Your contact details will be used only to respond to your inquiry. We will not sell, trade, or share your information with third parties.