CALENDAR

Thu 4/28

Adult Denver Botanic Gardens (4/28)

@ 4pm Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

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The Great Resignation With Dr. Steve Delcastillo @ 5:30pm Anythink Wright Farms, 5877 East 120th Avenue, Thornton. mhibben @anythinklibraries.org, 303-4053200

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Colorado Avalanche vs.

Nashville Predators @ 7pm / $36-$9999

Ball Arena, 1000 Chopper Circle,

Denver Grateful Shred

@ 8pm Fox Theatre & Cafe, 1135 13th St., Boulder

Fri 4/29

Winter Wonder Art Series 4/29

@ 4pm Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

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PJ Moon and The Swappers: PJ Moon & The Swappers at Wibby Brewing

@ 6pm Wibby Brewing, 209 Emery St, Longmont Colorado Rockies vs. Cincinnati Reds

@ 6:40pm / $8-$285 Coors Field, 2001 Blake St., Denver

Sat 4/30

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Fort Lupton Spring Clean-up Day @ 8am 800 12th St, 800 12th Street, Fort Lupton. ccross@fortluptonco.gov, 303-857-6694

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Electronics Recycling Event @ 9am

Commerce City Civic Center, 7887

East 60th Avenue, Commerce City. info@4CChamber.com, 720-8641786 Crafted Life Market at Orchard Town Center

@ 10am The Orchard Town Center, 14697 Delaware Street, Westminster. meghan@meghan dougherty.com, 720-560-0177 Monster Energy Supercross

@ 12:30pm / $20-$75 Empower Field At Mile High, 1701 Bryant St., Denver

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Hunter Safety

@ 3pm Apr 30th - May 1st Fort Lupton Community / Recreation Cen‐ter, 203 S. Harrison Avenue, Fort Lupton. 303-857-4200

Colorado Rockies vs. Cincinnati Reds

@ 6:10pm / $9-$285 Coors Field, 2001 Blake St., Denver

Colorado Rapids vs. Portland Timbers

@ 7pm / $20-$250 DICK'S Sporting Goods Park, 6000 Victory Way, Commerce City

Oh, the Places You'll Go: An Aerial Dance Production

@ 7:30pm / $30 Lakewood Cultural Center, 470 South Alli‐son Parkway, Lakewood. iluminaraerial@ theapollocenter.com, 720-479-8438

Sun 5/01

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Crafted Life Market at Orchard Town Center @ 11am The Orchard Town Center, 14697 Delaware Street, Westminster. meghan@meghandougherty.com, 720-560-0177

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Colorado Rockies vs.

Cincinnati Reds @ 1:10pm / $8-$285

Coors Field, 2001 Blake St., Den‐ver Mon 5/02

Beach Bunny

@ 8pm Ogden Theatre, 935 E Colfax Ave, Denver

Messy Art

@ 9pm May 2nd - May 16th Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

Tue 5/03

MAY Boot camp

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Legal Self Help Clinic @ 2pm

Anythink Wright Farms, 5877 East 120th Avenue, Thornton. morgan@ hayday.org, 303-405-3298 STEAM On!

@ 4pm May 3rd - May 17th Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

Colorado Rockies vs. Washington Nationals

@ 6:40pm / $6-$285 Coors Field, 2001 Blake St., Denver

Wed 5/04

Color Outside the Lines

@ 12am May 4th - May 3rd Bison Ridge Recreation Center, 13905 E. 112th Avenue, Commerce City. 303-2893760

Art In the Park 5/4

@ 4pm Offsite, 6060 E Parkway Drive, Commerce City. 303-289-3760

Colorado Rockies vs. Washington Nationals

@ 6:40pm / $6-$285 Coors Field, 2001 Blake St., Denver

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Elizabeth Gilbert @ 7:30pm / $40-$68

Paramount Theatre, 1621 Glen‐arm, Denver Thu 5/05

Family Paint Party

@ 12am May 5th - May 4th Eagle Pointe Recreation Center, 6060 E. Parkway Dr., Commerce City. 303-2893760

Colorado Rockies vs. Washington Nationals

@ 1:10pm / $6-$285 Coors Field, 2001 Blake St., Denver

Regular probes from countries including Russia, Iran, North Korea and others are directed toward state and local election offi ces, looking for vulnerability in the system.

Clerks said their offi ces partner with homeland security, the FBI, and state and local departments to monitor cyberthreats.

“If something viable looks as if it’s surfacing, we are notifi ed about it and we can respond,” Zygielbaum said. “We employ the most modern protection from a technology standpoint that there is out there.”

Staff go through cybersecurity training “every single election” regardless of how many times they have received it, Stern said. That helps staff recognize what attacks might look like. All equipment requires two-factor verifi cation, and there is a paper trail for each ballot.

“That can prove accurate results, and a successful election,” Stern said.

Douglas County Clerk and Recorder Merlin Klotz declined to speak for this story. Klotz is one of several public offi cials who sued the secretary of state because of a software update the state conducted on county

Boosting transparency

The Adams, Arapahoe and Jefferson County clerks said while they are working to mend relationships with voters who doubt election security, they emphatically believe those individuals are a small minority of the electorate.

“We still receive plenty of emails from people who believe the Big Lie,” Zygielbaum said.

Clerks said they receive form letters, copied-and-pasted arguments from people who appear to be local residents but also people outside their county borders.

“Just perpetuating the false narratives that the elections were fraudulent,” Zygielbaum said.

The letters come in waves. A spate of several in one day, followed by a lull.

“It’s important for our staff, for election judges, and for voters,” Stern said, “to understand that we are discussing conspiracy theories here and that the vast, vast majority of people in Colorado understand our elections are secure.”

Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder Joan Lopez emphasized the election system is not connected to the internet, and that she believes voters trust their local elections system.

“We have gone above and beyond to make sure that they are informed,” Lopez said.

Lopez estimated that people who doubt election security account for about 1% of Colorado’s population. That doesn’t mean offi ces have eased efforts to boost faith in U.S. elections.

County clerks’ offi ces have expanded or created additional designated webpages to educate people about the life of a ballot and how local elections function. As “forensic audit” became a buzzword last year, Lopez said, the offi ce tried to assuage people’s concerns by encouraging them to see the see the process fi rsthand.

“I’m telling you, once somebody goes through a tour, they really go ‘Wow, I can’t believe all you guys do,’” Lopez said.

When Stern encounters people who doubt election security, he says “I invite them in.”

“What I fi nd is that they are convinced that something is wrong because they heard it from someone who said something about a report that had some data from somewhere,” Stern said.

During elections, the offi ce offers “a tour of every single aspect of it while it’s happening,” Stern said.

“I personally lead them. We invite anyone in who wants to see the process up close,” Stern said.

Zygielbaum stresses that election equipment watching is conducted by bipartisan teams. Audits are performed during elections to ensure accuracy. They also host tours for anyone who wants one.

“We stick to the facts, and hopefully the truth will prevail,” Zygielbaum said.

Physical safety

Domestic threats toward election staff’s safety, stoked by conspiracies about a stolen election, have simmered down, clerks said, and numerous election related bills were introduced during the 2022 Colorado legislative session.

“We have heard from cowardly people sitting behind their computer screens over the course of the last year who are threating election workers — Colorado residents with families and kids — because of something they heard about election integrity and have no proof of,” Stern said. “It’s sick. It’s oftentimes illegal and we are always reporting it to law enforcement agencies, but it just needs to stop.”

Stern said his staff is as politically diverse as the bipartisan election judging teams who work during an election.

“They are Republicans, they are Democrats, they are unaffi liated members, and they are getting threats in equal numbers,” he said. “It is hard on morale. It is hard for us to get good applicants to want to be in this space.”

Stern said he could not confi dently say if turnover in his offi ce is attributable to threats, but that the majority of his offi ce is committed to the job despite sometimes facing an intimidating climate.

“The more they hear from cowards, the more they want to stick with this work so that we aren’t letting the cowards win,” he said.

“We hear the noise,” Stern said, adding he staunchly believes threatening people are a fringe minority in the state and are not representative of Colorado voters.

“Someone threatening your life resonates a lot more loudly than the fi ve people who told you you’re doing a good job,” he said.

Lopez watched with relief as the Vote Without Fear Act was passed by the state legislature. In the November 2020 election, two men came to the ballot box at county offi ces, fi lming voters who came to drop off their ballot. One of them openly carried a fi rearm.

“He was very hostile any time somebody approached him and said what are you doing,” Lopez said of her staff’s attempts to speak with the men.

“Every voter that came in had to pass this gentleman,” she said.

With no laws prohibiting his conduct, staff’s hands were tied, Lopez said.

House Bill 22-1086, signed into law on March 30, now prevents someone from openly carrying a fi rearm within any polling location or within 100 feet of a ballot drop box while an election is underway.

The Adams County Clerk and Recorder’s Offi ce is undergoing construction to heighten security.

Until now people seeking services from elections staff had to go inside the election offi ce. Now the county is installing window desks similar to what people might see at the DMV, Zygielbaum said.

Closer to Election Day, Zygielbaum will wear a bulletproof vest. His election staff also underwent active shooter training.

“That was a direct response to 2020,” he said.

Zygielbaum said he expects active shooter training to become an annual practice in collaboration with the Adams County Sheriff’s Offi ce. He called the process eye-opening for his offi ce. Most his employees have been in elections for most their career.

“This is something that is new to all of us. We used to be able to go to work and run elections under the assumption that we would all go home at the end of the day. And that’s changed,” he said. “Something that is supposed to be the foundation for our American institution is under attack.”

Friends of A Woman’s Place presents Celebrating Women Gala

The 2022 Outstanding Women of Weld County Nomination Form

N ame of Nominee: Field of Endeavor: Mailing Address: City Zip

Day/C ell Phone: Evening Phone: Email address:

Deadline for nominations: May 22, 2022

An Outstanding Woman of Weld County should be honored because of their service and commitment to making Weld County a better place for everyone. If you have previously fi lled out a nomination for this woman, you may disregard the next section. Please attach resume, list of accomplishments, letters, support materials, etc. to aid the selection committee in understanding the scope of special qualities and work accomplished by this individual.

Re-nominations are welcome annually. Include any new honors and accomplishments with this form. Applications will be kept each year.

Your Nam e: Contact Phone#

Your email:

Thank you for nominating this amazing woman for recognition at the 2021 Celebrating Women Gala which also serves as a fundraiser for A Woman’s Place Please send this form and supporting information to: Friends of A Woman’s Place - P.O. Box 337751 - Greeley, CO 80633 Or Email form and attachments to friendsofawomansplace@gmail.com Direct your questions by email to: pjmorrell@comcast.net More information and nomination forms on Facebook under Friends of a Woman’s Place Information about A Woman’s Place shelter for victims of domestic violence: www.awpdv.org This year’s Celebrating Women Gala event location and time will be announced in June. How did you hear about us? ❏ Social Media ❏ Newspaper ❏ Friend ❏ Other

County clerks are on the lookout for potential cyberattacks after warnings from President Joe Biden that such attacks are increasingly likely.