A. The City Clerk shall prepare, or cause to be prepared, mail ballot packets that include the ballot, instructions for completing the ballot, and a return envelope. The City Clerk shall supervise the distribution, handling, and counting of ballots, and the survey of returns and shall take all necessary steps to protect the confidentiality of the ballots cast and the integrity of the election. If the City Clerk chooses not to use a secrecy envelope, the City Clerk shall outline in the plan presented to Council the steps to be taken to ensure the confidentiality of the ballots cast.
B. The ballot shall contain the following warning:
WARNING:
Any person who, by use of force or other means, unduly influences an eligible elector to vote in any particular manner or to refrain from voting, or who falsely makes, alters, forges, or counterfeits any mail ballot before or after it has been cast, or who destroys, defaces, mutilates, or tampers with a ballot is subject, upon conviction, to imprisonment, or to a fine, or both.
C. The return envelope shall have printed on it a self-affirmation substantially in the following form:
I state under penalty of perjury that I am an eligible elector; that my signature, name, and address are as shown on this envelope; that I have not and will not cast any vote in this election except by the enclosed ballot; and that my ballot is enclosed in accord with applicable law.
Date Signature of Voter
Witness
D. The signing of the self-affirmation on the return envelope shall constitute an affirmation by the voter, under penalty of perjury, that the facts stated in the self- affirmation are true. If the eligible elector is unable to sign, the eligible elector may affirm by making a mark on the self-affirmation, with or without assistance, witnessed by another person.
E. An elector who registers to vote by mail shall receive a ballot packet which contains written instructions advising the elector that a copy of valid identification, as required by part 1 of article 1 of title 1, Colorado Revised Statutes, must be submitted with the mail ballot. The outside of the return envelope shall be marked to identify that the elector is required to provide required identification.
F. No sooner than twenty five (25) days before the election, nor later than seven o'clock (7:00) P.M. on the day of the election, mail ballots shall be made available at the City Clerk's Office for eligible electors who request a ballot. The City Clerk shall keep a record of each such ballot issued.
G. No sooner than twenty five (25) days before an election and no later than fifteen (15) days before an election, the City Clerk shall mail to each active registered elector, at the last mailing address appearing in the registration record and in accord with United States Postal Service regulations, a mail ballot packet, which shall be marked "Do Not Forward. Address Correction Requested", or any other similar statement that is in accord with United States Postal Service regulations. If the ballot is returned as undeliverable, the City Clerk shall not be required to remail the ballot packet. A record shall be kept of the number of ballot packets returned as undeliverable.
H. In the event that unusual circumstances exist that may delay the mailing of ballots in accord with subsection H of this section, the City Clerk, with the written consent of the City Attorney, is authorized to mail the ballots no later than ten (10) days before an election. For the purposes of this provision, unusual circumstances shall include, but not be limited to, extreme weather conditions such as blizzard or flood, equipment failure, labor work stoppage or slowdown, or other events outside the City's control. The City Attorney's consent and supporting documents shall be included in the official election records. (Ord. 16-102; Ord. 20-63)