Overseas vote returns already surpass 2010 totals

19,055 overseas and military voters requested ballots

Denver, October 29, 2012 - With eight days until the election, Colorado has seen a big jump in military and overseas ballot requests. So far, 19,055 military and overseas Colorado voters requested ballots, an increase of 2,804 over the 2008 presidential election. Colorado county clerks mailed and electronically delivered ballots to these voters beginning 45 days before the election.

"We’re constantly looking for ways to improve voting for military and overseas voters," Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler said. "It's great to see such a big jump, well above the last presidential election."

This year, Gessler’s office launched a statewide initiative to electronically deliver ballots to military and overseas voters. Following a successful pilot in 2010, Gessler implemented the system statewide to provide every overseas voter with the opportunity to receive ballots the next day anywhere in the world. These voters can then securely mark and print their ballots before signing and returning them.

Additionally, Gessler secured a grant and deployed high-speed ballot printers so that every county can quickly mail ballots to meet overseas voter demands.

"As home to four major military bases, we’re deeply committed to ensuring that every man and woman serving our nation has the opportunity to vote," El Paso County Clerk and Recorder Wayne Williams said. "The combination of electronic ballot delivery and these Ballot-on-Demand printers improve the convenience and accessibility for all of Colorado's military and overseas voters. El Paso County continues to be a leader nationwide in supporting an all-of-the-above strategy to engage our voters overseas."

Thus far, 8,320 military and overseas voters have returned their ballots, 80 percent more than the total overseas ballots submitted in 2010.

Voting overseas for the first time, Colorado retirees Marty and Susan Zmolek currently attend a language school in Prague, Czech Republic. "The other American students are so envious of how simple it is for us to vote our entire ballot by email, which is not an option in many other states," they said. "Thank you for being the leading state in the nation for making it easy for us overseas voters!"

Colorado military and overseas voters must vote their ballots by election day but they also have an additional eight days after the election to allow for international travel.