Colorado Sec. of State dispenses PPE to election workers amid rising COVID cases

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Colorado Secretary of State’s office has prepared for the Nov. 3 General Election by pairing up with the Office of Emergency Management and distributing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to all county clerks, as the state sees a spike in coronavirus cases.

“The safety of voters and elections personnel is a paramount concern for all of us at the Secretary of State’s Office,” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said in a statement Tuesday.  “I’m glad that our office is able to help provide counties with this essential equipment to ensure the General Election is conducted as safely as possible.”      

Colorado saw a record rise in the number of daily cases reported Tuesday, with just over 1,000 new cases of coronavirus.

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Masks, face shields, hand sanitizer, sanitizing wipes and thermostats were distributed in an attempt to keep transmissions down as people prepare to head to the polls on Election Day.

Colorado's early voting began Oct. 9, but the state has not granted any extensions after the polls close on Nov. 3, as some states have chosen to do in light of the pandemic.

The Secretary of State’s office has encouraged county clerks to use disposable pens and provide gloves for staff workers, but Griswold said that any expenses made by clerks towards safety gear, will be reimbursed by the state through the CARES Act.

Colorado Democrats have submitted over 87,600 ballots within a week of early voting starting, while Republicans have only submitted just over 31,300, according to data collected by the U.S. Elections Project. Though an additional 60,600 ballots have been received by voters not affiliated with a party.

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 A spokesperson with the Secretary of State’s office told Fox News that they state saw a “record-breaking turnout” in the June primary election with mail-in voting.

A reported 99.3 percent of voters submitted their ballots through the mail as coronavirus was spiking in other parts of the country in June. The remaining .7 percent of voters submitted their ballot in person.

The Secretary of State has also initiated a new smartphone based program that will enable voters to address ballot discrepancies quickly to try and limit the number of rejected ballots.

Griswold explained to Fox News that young voters are most likely to be affect by ballot discrepancies because the signature verification system Colorado uses, will flag a signature if they have less signatures to compare with.

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“Overall, our signature discrepancy rates are extremely low, they’re the lowest in the nation, but they are a lot higher for younger people,” Griswold told Fox News.

“As the youngest secretary of state in the nation, I’m dedicated to doing everything in my power to make sure that every vote counts, especially rolling out technology that we think younger people will find more acceptable,” she added.