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CO SOS Answers to HAVA & Related Questions
See the bottom of the referenced page on the Colorado Counties website. I think the SOS probably means Nov 2005: 

County Lines
December 2005
CCI 98th Annual Winter Conference

http://www.ccionline.org/legreportview.cfm?filename=CL051219.htm&ID=320

Joe

Joe Pezzillo
PO Box J
Boulder, CO 80306 USA
jpezzillo@xxxxxxxxx
303-938-8850


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Secretary of State’s Response to Outstanding Commissioner Requests –
Follow-up on the November 30, 2006 CCI Winter Conference HAVA Session

County Question
Secretary of State’s Response
When will we know how much financial assistance the counties will be given for HAVA? At a minimum, it is anticipated that counties will be allocated $3200 for each polling place used in 2002. The Secretary of State’s office is currently exploring options for offering more financial assistance to counties for the purchase of direct recording electronic (DRE) voting systems.
Why is there such a strong push for compliance by the counties with the HAVA deadlines when DREs haven’t been certified yet? The push for compliance is because of federal law. HAVA requires that disability accessible voting systems be used in the 2006 federal elections. Colorado’s first federal election in 2006 is the primary on August 8th. To be used in this state, voting systems must be certified as being compliant with the 2002 federal election commission voting standards as well as Colorado’s standards. At this time, 2 vendors (HART and Diebold) have applied for certification. It is anticipated that both ES&S and Sequoia will apply in the very near future.
How can the state select a preferred DRE vendor when the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) has not yet adopted certification standards? Effective May 28, 2004, all voting systems and equipment offered for sale in Colorado must comply with the 2002 federal election commission standards and with standards promulgated by the Secretary of State’s office (see §§ 1-5-601.5 and 1-5-616, C.R.S.). It is anticipated that the EAC will adopt voting systems standards sometime later this month that will go into effect in 2007. These standards may require updates in the software used by DREs and other voting systems (particularly in the area of security), but will probably not affect the design of the vote tabulating equipment itself.
Why did the state accept federal HAVA money when there’s not adequate money to pay for implementation? Implementing the mandates of HAVA concerning a statewide voter registration list and disability accessible voting systems is not optional; the state cannot opt out of these provisions. The general assembly chose to disallow punch card and lever voting systems in the Colorado, beginning with elections held on and after January 1, 2006, in legislation enacted in 2004. 

Can mail ballots be used to substitute for DREs?
Pursuant to Section 301 of HAVA, DREs used in elections for federal office must be disability accessible. Colorado law prohibits the use of mail ballots in elections involving partisan candidates and/or primary or congressional vacancy elections (see § 1-7.5-104, C.R.S.). So, under current Colorado law, it does not appear possible to use mail ballot elections as a substitute for DREs.
Can counties with populations that are less than 10,000 continue to use paper ballots? Regardless of size, counties can continue to use paper ballots with hand counts and/or optical scan tabulation, but must also have one voting system that is disability accessible in each polling place.
Can we have a smaller number of polling places for federal and/or presidential elections? Precincts and polling places can be combined, pursuant to § 1-5-101, et seq., C.R.S.
How much does an electronic pollbook cost and will such pollbooks be part of the implementation of the statewide voter registration system? If so, what is the timeline for implementation? Electronic pollbooks are required for counties that implement vote centers. The cost of these pollbooks varies depending on the vendor. This feature may be included in the statewide voter registration system, depending on the vendor/option selected to replace Accenture.