The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office announced Wednesday it’s adding a tech tool, allowing Coloradans to become voters with a smartphone and a text message.
Those who meet the requirements to become voters can text “Colorado” or “CO” to “2Vote” (28683) on a smartphone. That gets them to a link to the secretary of state’s voter registration and election information web page.
“It’s one-stop shopping for all the elections information anyone would need,” Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams said in a statement. “In today’s on-demand society, we’re staying one step ahead addressing the needs of millennials, Gen-Xers and anyone who wants information immediately.”
To vote in Colorado, a person must be 18 years old, a United States citizen, a Colorado resident who has lived in the state for at least 22 days before the election in before the first election her or she wants to vote in.
Coloradans already registered to vote can update their address, change parties, view a sample ballot 45 days before an election or check the status of their ballot after they voted, along with finding dates and deadlines for elections.
Global Mobile developed the service as Williams sought input from the Denver elections office, New Era Colorado, Colorado Common Cause and the Colorado Public Interest Research Group.
“We are very excited to be working with the state of Colorado, which is highly regarded as one of the most forward-thinking states in the country,” Lee Durham, CEO pf Global Mobile, said in a statement. “Our platform fits in perfectly with their goals to make election information available to the on-demand society that’s now part of the smartphone world.”
The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office touted its other technology advanccements Wednesday.
“In 2010, Colorado was a pioneer in allowing citizens to register to vote online,” the office said in a press release. “It was the first state to join the Electronic Registration Information Center, which helps keep voter lists updated nationally. And it was a finalist this year for the National Association of Secretaries of State’s IDEAS award for its Accountability in Colorado Elections program, the only state to have a publicly-available database with elections-related information, including voter registration, elections cost data, county performance information, and various other elections-related records.”
