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El Paso County clerk outlines security upgrades, ballot tracking and post‑2024 recount steps
Summary
El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleicher described new transparency and security measures—camera streaming of ballot boxes, an Experian contract for voter‑list maintenance, hand audits and signature‑verification protocols—saying the changes followed heavy turnout and a razor‑thin 2024 recount in House District 16.
El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleicher told a crowd at the Citizen Service Center that the county has tightened election operations after a record turnout and a mandatory recount in the November 2024 cycle.
Schleicher said the Elections Department has replaced ballot‑box cameras and now streams footage for public viewing, upgraded tabulation equipment so CPUs are air‑gapped and caged, and introduced more rigorous pre‑, during‑ and post‑election audits. "We put a media release out. We're letting everybody know, hey, come on in. Come watch the whole entire process," Schleicher said.
Why it matters: El Paso County is Colorado's largest voting jurisdiction and saw unusually high activity in 2024, including more than 36,000 in‑person voters and a mandatory recount that produced the closest state legislative race recorded in Colorado history. Those pressures prompted the county to invest in transparency and in systems intended to reduce misinformation, accelerate ballot tracking and help field voter questions during high‑volume elections.
Major changes and how they work
- Ballot‑box cameras and public streaming: Schleicher said the county replaced older cameras on its ballot boxes with a streamed system funded in part by HAVA grant money. The county previously had about 38–41 boxes and is preparing to expand to 44. Schleicher said making live footage available has reduced Colorado Open Records Act requests for stored footage.
- Tabulation security and physical safeguards: New tabulation systems are air‑gapped, with cord routing visible in the tabulation room, CPUs locked in cages and port locks installed to prevent unauthorized device access, Schleicher said.
- Signature verification and the Agilis system: The county uses an Agilis machine that can run Automatic Signature Review (ASR) as a tier‑1 step. Signatures the machine cannot match go to human reviewers in a two‑tier, bipartisan process: an initial single judge (tier 1) and, if unresolved, a bipartisan two‑judge team (tier 2) that has access to the voter signature history. Schleicher and Elections Manager Angie Lee described safeguards including daily audits of judges and ASR settings.
- Ballot tracking and video evidence: The office contracts with vendors to track ballots from printing to delivery and retains video at critical stages. Schleicher said that when voters or campaigns reported anomalies (for example, a claim that multiple ballots were mailed to one address), the office pulled vendor video to resolve the question.
- Voter‑list maintenance: Schleicher said the clerk's office contracted with Experian to improve mailing addresses and reduce undeliverable ballots. He reported undeliverable counts fell from about 49,000 (before the work) to roughly 9,000 in the most recent election cycle.
- Post‑election audit and recount readiness: Under state rules the secretary of state directs a post‑election audit sample; Schleicher said the county typically samples several hundred ballots ("about 600, depends on the election") and also audits judges' signature calls. He described the November 2024 recount for House District 16, where the final margin reached three votes and adjudication required multiple reviews.
Quotes from office leaders
"If there was a problem with any aspects of our voting system, I would be absolutely 100% open and transparent with everybody," Schleicher said while describing the office's approach to errors and public questions. He also urged voters with questions to call the clerk's hotline: "Call us. That's what we're here for is just to share, you know, what is going on and things like that."
Angie Lee, identified in the meeting as the county's elections manager, described the ASR/tier process and the daily mixing of judges between tier 1 and tier 2 to avoid single‑person monotony and to preserve bipartisan review.
Operational directions and upcoming tools
- Ballot boxes and VSPCs: Schleicher said state rules and the county's higher register of active voters require adding three ballot boxes (from 41 to 44) and expanding voter service and polling centers (VSPCs) for the next general election.
- Public auditing portal: The clerk announced an auditing program due to launch in May that will let the public review adjudicated ballot images and cast‑vote records for specific races; Schleicher said residents will be able to audit races such as HD16 alongside the official canvass materials.
- Outreach, recruitment and youth engagement: The office is building outreach tools (including a planned app modeled on peer jurisdictions) and runs a school‑outreach program that registers students and recruits student election judges. Schleicher said the office pays election judges by statute and starts hiring for November in August.
What the office did not decide or change
No new local ordinance or statute was adopted during the briefing. The items Schleicher described are operational adjustments and contracts (Experian, camera upgrades, Spatialist platform for live turnout) the clerk's office has implemented or intends to implement.
Ending
Schleicher urged residents with questions to sign up for his distribution list and said the office will continue providing weekly election calendars and updates. "I don't want our voters to be confused going into the November election at all," he said, adding the county will continue to expand transparency and voter services ahead of upcoming coordinated elections.
