Celeste Landry

“The Colorado Secretary of State’s office (SOS) does not create public policies, but it does write administrative rules and does review and sometimes testify on election and business licensing bills. Almost every year, there is an elections omnibus “clean-up” bill, but the SOS hasn’t, as far as I’m aware, ever made an effort to ensure that the overall statutes don’t contradict each other or followed up rigorously to ensure that all the statutes, such as 1-7-1004 C.R.S., have been executed. Setting up an advisory group to look at making the statutes consistent will require staff, but I have heard a desire from SOS staff for a true clean-up!

The Title 1 elections that are run by the county clerks and overseen by SOS are already based on science and evidence. • Colorado voters vote on paper ballots, with only a few allowed exceptions, such as overseas voters with unreliable mail service and blind or other print-disability voters. I have testified successfully against expanding electronic ballot return more widely. • Chain of custody and signature verification are used to ensure that the ballots are cast by the actual voter and that they securely arrive at the tabulation location. • All counties with at least 1,000 active voters must use machine tabulation which is more accurate than hand counting. • The machines undergo a public Logic and Accuracy Test before the election to verify that the machines are tabulating correctly. All possible options (candidates, Y/N) are marked on ballots to verify every contest option. • The actual election results undergo a risk-limiting audit (RLA) to verify with a high degree of confidence that the reported outcomes are correct. Colorado received national recognition for pioneering RLAs. Other states are adopting RLAs. In July 2026 I participated in a pilot program of independent observers auditing the RLA process.”

“Colorado farmers are facing multiple threats, amidst water scarcity and rising prices for fertilizer and other imported materials. As agriculture is our #1 export sector, in what ways do you imagine using your role to support evidence-based advancements to protect and support our farmers and natural resources in the years ahead?

The Secretary of State doesn’t specifically interact with farmers in their capacity as farmers, but rather as voters and business entrepreneurs. Our mail-in voting system supports farmers because it gives them weeks to fill in their ballot, instead of having to do so at a polling place. Allowing farmers (and everyone) to return their ballot by mail and to file for a business license online frees up farmers to stay and work on their farms.”

“The Secretary of State has no role in regulating AI construction.

However, the Secretary of State (SOS) has been and should be concerned about misinformation and disinformation. Voters need accurate, comprehensive information in order to be informed voters. AI has not been an accurate source in 2026 for the list of candidates running for Colorado SOS, and I have helped organizations get the correct list.

Unfortunately, the news media has not been filling in the AI gap. Many major news media outlets have portrayed the SOS contest as a two-candidate contest for the November election, sometimes failing to mention that they are only reporting on the major-party candidates. The news media have some control over the election narrative. This year several news outlets have a two-tier system for election coverage. If you are a major-party candidate, even if you have been publicly labeled “unserious,” you get full coverage. If you are a minor-party candidate, you must overcome additional barriers. The media should not be advantaging the major-party candidates. They can use other metrics that are independent of a party label, such as the candidate being previously elected to public office or having reached a fundraising threshold. With a majority of CO voters registered as unaffiliated, the media should use a better metric than solely political party label for determining invitations to candidate forums and inclusion in voter guides.”

“Community health deeply affects elections and business licensing when the interactions are conducted in person. Fortunately, the Secretary of State’s office (SOS) offers most of its services online.

Pueblo County held the first election during COVID (a special election) and was intentional in reducing risk of infection. They set a model for later elections. During COVID, hiring election judges was more difficult because many elderly election judges decided to sit out working the election, but a wider call went out to recruit judges. A few days later, after discussing with my family my desire to help, I applied to be an election judge; I was told that my county already had enough judges! I was so pleased to see the community rally to fill these important jobs.”

“Community health deeply affects elections and business licensing when the interactions are conducted in person. Fortunately, the Secretary of State’s office (SOS) offers most of its services online.

Pueblo County held the first election during COVID (a special election) and was intentional in reducing risk of infection. They set a model for later elections. During COVID, hiring election judges was more difficult because many elderly election judges decided to sit out working the election, but a wider call went out to recruit judges. A few days later, after discussing with my family my desire to help, I applied to be an election judge; I was told that my county already had enough judges! I was so pleased to see the community rally to fill these important jobs.”