WEEK OF OCTOBER 31, 2024
VOLUME 22 | ISSUE 47
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How does Colorado keep noncitizens and dead people from voting? Protections involve everything from the DMV database to what’s known as the ‘death list’ BY CAITLYN KIM CPR NEWS
“Creating unity in our community, as far as creating groups of spaces and areas where people can feel like they know they’re in Parker,” said Kennedy. “And that they are in a beautiful space.” Public art is defined as anything that is created by an artist, is unique and is not mass produced, according to Glassburn. She added that public art can just be a beautiful piece to look at, but it can also serve a purpose. It can be used for safety by increasing
As the election draws nearer, Coloradans have a lot of questions around voting — about how the process works, and also, what protections are there to ensure ineligible people aren’t casting ballots. It’s a perennial concern in every election, but one that has heated up this year, that somehow large numbers of non-citizens — and the dead — will manage to cast ballots. Weld County Clerk and Recorder Carly Koppes has been fielding versions of these fears since she first started working in the office in 2004. The Republican, who was first elected Clerk in 2014, is on her 6th presidential cycle. “This isn’t the first presidential election that we’ve got a lot of voters asking, ‘what about the illegals?’” she said. Despite no widespread evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 election, an NPR poll shows that a majority of Americans are concerned that there will be fraud this time around, in large part due to former President Donald Trump’s false statements. A majority of respondents in that survey said they believe noncitizens will be able to vote in the upcoming presidential election. A number of audits, investigations and studies confirmed the results of the 2020 election, which President Joe Biden won. The checks to ensure only eligible voters end up on the voter rolls start with the first question asked of anyone registering to vote in Colorado. “On the form it says, ‘Are you a citizen of the United State? Yes or No?” Koppes said, pointing to a printed copy of Colorado’s official voter registration form. Next to the question, the document says, “if you answered No, do not complete this form.” “So, it’s a self-affirmation. We are hoping that you are answering that question correctly,” Koppes explained. But “when we start registering you to vote in the voter registration system, we do verify and check.” In other words: trust, but verify. Clerks and the Secretary of State’s Office rely on a long list of databases to
SEE ARTS, P14
SEE SECURITY, P6
On the corner of O’Brien Park in Parker sits “Unconditional,” a piece by Boulder artist Mitch Levin, who was inspired to create the 3D heart by his trip PHOTO BY HALEY LENA to Paris and the lock bridge.
Using public art to serve beauty and purpose Parker establishes its first public arts commission BY HALEY LENA HLENA@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM
Whether it be a mural on a building or a 3D heart covered with locks at O’Brien Park, art spreads across Parker like one giant canvas. And now with a goal to create a more inclusive and vibrant community through
public art, Parker has established its first public arts commission. “Some of (the commissioners) are artists themselves, some of them are married to artists, some of them just love public art or do it as part of their job, (but) they all had a vested interest in bringing public art to Parker,” said Carrie Glassburn, Parker’s cultural director. Christine Kennedy, who has been appointed to serve as the commission’s first chair, is looking forward to implementing art not just downtown, but in Parker as a whole.
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