Director's Notebook Follow our progress as we prepare for the 2008 elections. On this page I post updates on what's going on at the Denver Elections Division.   Preparing for an election is a much bigger job than you might think, and it takes a dedicated staff many months of effort. There are poll workers to recruit and train; increasing amounts of voter registration records to continually update; potential polling places to survey, inspect, prepare and equip; ballots to design and print; voting machinery to inspect; software systems to maintain and test; public outreach to conduct; and many other elements that go into creating a successful electoral process. And on top of that, the Elections Division moved to a new location in May -- a significant undertaking in any year, let alone while planning a presidential election.   The Primary Election is behind us, and we are fully involved in making sure that the General Election is a successful one for Denver's voters. We hope you find that this "behind the scenes" look at our planning process gives you some insight on what it takes to prepare for elections. Email us your comments at electionscomm@denvergov.org.

Mike's Columns 11/3/08 - Wonder what it will be like behind the scenes on Election Day? Here's an hour-by-hour description.   11/3/08 - Doing it better for the General Election is the theme of today's column.   11/3/08 - Provisional ballots have been looked at a second-class form of voting. In reality, provisional ballots represent a real step forward. They have allowed thousands of people to vote who would otherwise been denied a ballot in recent years.   10/31/08 - To create an early voting program that a lot of voters will find convenient enough for them is not inexpensive, but judging by the numbers of voters who opted to vote early, it appears to have been a hit.   10/31/08 - The popularity of voting by mail in Colorado has skyrocketed this year. While it has some undeniable benefits, there are some disadvantages too. 10/31/08 - My apologies to you for neglecting this column.   10/16/08 - As we get close to the General Election, I plan to write more columns. In this column, I'll give you my assessment of how the Primary went.    8/12/08 - It's Primary Election Day, and we're hopeful that voters will like the new look and functioning on our neighborhood polling places. 8/11/08 - There's really an awful lot of information that our poll workers have to absorb to do their important jobs correctly on Election Day. We realized that a new, streamlined support system would be essential to make their jobs run smoothly.   8/10/08 - Ever think about what it takes to get a couple hundred polling places up and running, correctly and on time? Here's what's been happening in that part of our preparations.   8/8/08 - The pace of activity at the Elections Divisions headquarters this week has been likened to a "beehive." Take a peek at what's going on.   8/7/08 - Election "season" is well underway, and so far, we're pleased with how it is going. 8/1/08 - We are very lucky that there are so many citizens who are willing to participate in Denver's elections as poll workers. The training of these good folks is a responsibility that we have not taken lightly. 7/30/08 - The pace of activity at the Elections Division continues to escalate. We've hired an additional 50 temporary workers just in the last week, as mail-in ballots have begun to flood our mailroom. The hiring and training of new workers is a major activity for us. 6/24/08 - Activity at the Elections Division has reached a fever pitch. In fact, it is "crunch time." 5/29/08 - As the dust begins to settle at our new offices, we are starting to hear back on our first of three 2008 mailings to registered voters. Mailer number one went into the mails this week with important information about voting options in Denver for the 2008 elections.   5/27/08 - The Elections Division made the big move last week, into it's new, more spacious quarters. We still look a bit like a construction zone, but this move is an important milestone in our preparations for the 2008 elections. 5/8/08 - You may have been seeing or reading news coverage lately about the new statewide voter registration system, called SCORE. SCORE got it's first real-world workout last week. Counties gave it a road test in a mock election, orchestrated by the Secretary of State's Office. 4/23/08 - Along with getting ready for the 2008 elections and moving to a new building this year, the Elections Division is involved in a much more fundamental endeavor: re-inventing itself.   4/14/08 - Have you wondered how we select polling places?  Today's column looks at that process.   4/4/08 - A successful election is truly a group effort. If you are a registered voter in Denver, please consider becoming one of the people so essential to the effort. 4/1/08 - This election season did not have a routine start to it. On December 17, 2007, Colorado's secretary of state decertified or conditionally certified most of the elections machinery that counties use to conduct elections. The governor and legislative leaders mounted an effort to have all counties conduct paper ballot elections. That effort was unsuccessful after the secretary of state received new authority and recertified all voting equipment. Voters have understandably had a lot of confusion, but none of the upheaval affected our elections plans here in Denver. And that's the subject of today's column.