Colorado among 6 states that will have federal election monitors

Colorado is one of six states that will have federal election monitors observing and taking notes on Election Day.

The Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division will be sending monitors to Adams County. Earlier this week, the DOJ said that those monitors would also be going to Douglas County. But Thursday, the federal government reversed on that.

The switch-up led to confusion for voters and the county clerk in Douglas County Thursday, though all the voters CBS Colorado spoke to said they feel their vote is secure.

Both counties are the majority population centers for contentious congressional races where Democratic challengers hope to unseat incumbent Republicans.

Voters in Weld and Adams counties will decide the seat for Congressional District 8 between Republican incumbent Gabe Evans and Democratic challenger Manny Rutinel.

While in Congressional District 4, Democrat Eileen Laubacher is taking on incumbent Republican Lauren Boebert.

Thursday, ballot drop boxes in Douglas County saw a steady flow of traffic as a back-and-forth took place behind the scenes.

"It really doesn't affect me because I just voted, and we'll see how it turns out," said Douglas County voter Rick O'Donnell.

"Bringing poll watchers or whatever here to Douglas County, I think it's weird and wrong, honestly," said Douglas County voter Sebastian Aichele.

Tuesday, the Adams County clerk received a letter that DOJ election monitors would be sent to the jurisdiction on Election Day.

"I was not necessarily surprised. We've been expecting some sort of federal involvement for some time, but I was shocked that it came to us and not both Adams and Weld," said Adams County Clerk and Recorder Josh Zygielbaum.

Wednesday, the Douglas County clerk received the same letter.

"For Douglas County, I think we have a tendency to lean red, but that's shifting as more young people move out here," said Aichele. "This is Lauren Boebert's county, right? Like that would be a pretty substantial blow if she was not reelected."

But a day later, the DOJ reached out to say, "Never mind," that the notification to Douglas County was sent "in error" and the monitors will only be sent to Adams County.

"I think it shows that there's just a crazy lack of intercommunication in our federal government right now," said Aichele. "They're not sure about how they want to interfere in our elections. It's kind of insane to me."

The letters say the monitors are there to observe and monitor for compliance with federal voting rights statutes.

In a response to the DOJ Thursday, the Colorado Secretary of State's Office said, "None of the statutes cited in your email provide the Department of Justice with authority to observe election activities in nonpublic spaces."

The letter asked for detailed information about the proposed observers.

Colorado will review the DOJ's request to send monitors to Adams County in line with a recent change to the state's election rules that requires official observers seeking access to nonpublic election spaces to get express permission from the Secretary of State's Office.

You can see the new rule here. This rule was newly adopted on Oct. 9, 2026.

The Secretary of State's Office could not tell CBS Colorado the last time DOJ monitors visited Colorado. Previously, DOJ observers did not need express authorization.

"The federal government has the authority under the Federal Voting Rights Act to dispatch observers to make sure that federal voting rights laws are being enforced," said Doug Spencer, law professor at the University of Colorado.

An election law scholar, Spencer says federal election observers were created to protect voting rights.

"When there's a lack of trust in the officials who are doing this, then their presence feels more threatening than it does ameliorating of these problems," said Spencer.

He says many Americans today don't trust the government and other institutions.

"You have a federal government that has been making statements. We're going to these places to do things as opposed to just observe and make sure the laws followed, and that gives people a little bit of wary feelings about what these, what the purposes of these observers, and what the risks are of having them," said Spencer.

"I do think that there are shenanigans going on in voting across the country," O'Donnell said. "People who have died are still on their voting rolls. People have fictitious paperwork and are not citizens, and they vote."

"I don't think we've had issues with elections in previous years, and I think that this is really just a way for the federal government to kind of put their hands in our election," said Aichele.

The Douglas County Clerk's Office shared a statement saying, "The commitment of the Douglas County Office of Clerk and Recorder remains the same: secure, accurate, transparent, and accessible elections for every eligible Colorado voter."

Karen Hoopes, the Republican candidate for Adams County Clerk and Recorder, issued this statement to CBS Colorado, "I welcome independent, lawful observation of our elections, whether it comes from political parties, citizen observers, or the U.S. Department of Justice. Transparency should never be viewed as a threat. It is how we build public confidence."