Liz Copan / ecopan@summitdaily.com
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed two executive orders Friday, May 15 allowing for safer elections.
The two orders temporarily suspend regulations that require ballot petitions and petitions for unaffiliated and independent candidates to be signed in front of a petition circulator.
Under normal circumstances, voters would be able to sign a petition to put a candidate or issue on the ballot. Polis is suspending the statutes that require for that to happen in the physical presence of a petition circulator.
The goal of the orders are to provide ballot access to voters while maintaining social distancing protocols set forth to mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus. The orders also authorize the Secretary of State to create emergency rules for how petitions will be signed and collected in a way that prevents the spread of the virus.
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On Friday, the governor also extended an executive order that suspends any in-person requirements related to elections. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment amended its safer at home order as well to clarify that elections are considered critical government functions and all election positions are considered essential workers, according to a news release from the Governor’s Office.
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