Grand County weighs switching voting systems as clerk and former officials urge caution

Sarah Rosine, who served as Grand County clerk and recorder for 32 years, urged the Board of County Commissioners to hold off on switching the county's voting system, saying the clerk's office lacks the capacity and experience to absorb a steep learning curve while addressing previously identified process deficiencies. "There is an overall increased cost for changing systems, but also additional cost for training time," Rosine said, arguing counties using ClearBallot historically program ballots in-house and that Grand County should not be a test case for ClearBallot's ballot-design services.

Clerk's office staff and several commissioners expressed similar caution. The clerk said the office has relied on Dominion for critical support during recent elections and that staffing is thin; commissioners repeatedly raised whether the county could absorb the operational risk of introducing a new system mid-recovery from audits and state oversight. "Eliminating risk is the smart way to go," one commissioner said, arguing to finish the current contract year with Dominion before considering a switch.

Representatives from ClearBallot (presenting remotely) described the company's national footprint and said they now have staff in Colorado and capacity to design ballots and provide support. Matt Dwyer, ClearBallot's business-development manager, said ClearBallot serves tens of millions of voters nationwide and employs personnel who previously programmed Dominion ballots. "We serve over 45,000,000 registered voters across the country with our products in 14 states," Dwyer said, noting the firm has increased local staffing.

The county compared multi-year price quotes presented in the agenda packet. County staff summarized the two offers as roughly $168,000 for a six-year Dominion leasing arrangement versus approximately $200,000 over eight years for ClearBallot (both numbers were described as estimates and depend on contract terms and timing). ClearBallot also offered a near-term pilot option that would add roughly $39,000 this year, a cost some commissioners said they were unwilling to pay to "jump" into a new system mid-cycle.

Commissioners discussed alternatives, including asking for updated proposals from both vendors, seeking an additional presentation from Dominion to explain recent upgrades, and folding the question into budget deliberations so the clerk's office can recruit backup staffing and training resources. The board did not take a binding vote to change systems; several commissioners signaled a preference to remain with Dominion through the current election cycle and consider any change only after the clerk's office can demonstrate staffing redundancy and more experience.