Amendment 84 would add ID numbers to Colorado mail ballot envelopes
Oct 12, 2026 · 7 min · 5 segments
- Speakers
Kim MonsonHost
Oct 12, 2026 · 7 min · 5 segments
Kim MonsonHost
Amendment 84 would require Colorado voters to write the last four digits of their Social Security number or Colorado driver's license or ID card number next to their signature on the mail ballot return envelope in federal and statewide elections.
Kim Monson changed her 2026 Colorado Voters Guide recommendation from yes to no over the risk of identity theft.
Amendment 84 on the November 3rd ballot would require Colorado voters returning a mail ballot in any federal or statewide election to include the last four digits of their Social Security number or Colorado Real Identification number or Colorado Real Identification driver's license number along with their signature on the ballot's self-affirmation.
Male ballots made up 92% of all ballots cast in Colorado in 2024, according to the 2026 Blue Book, the state's ballot information booklet prepared by Legislative Council staff.
Kim Monson said on the Kim Monson Show on October 12th that she first supported the measure.
I initially had been a yes on that because I think voter ID is such a good idea, she said.
However, as we were doing more analysis on it, I realized that you would not only be putting your signature on the outside of your envelope, but also the last four of your social security number or your Colorado driver's license or your Colorado real ID, and realized I think that this was a huge opportunity for the potential for identity theft, Kim Monson said, and so I changed my recommendation on that from a yes to a no.
The Amendment 84 entry in her 2026 Colorado Voters Guide now recommends a no vote In it, Kim Monson writes that she is very concerned about providing the numbers on the outside of the envelope that we return our ballots in.
Under CRS 1-7.5-107, the return envelope must have printed on it a self-affirmation, which the voter signs and dates.
The same statute says the envelope shall not be required to have a flap covering the signature or otherwise impede the use of a signature verification device.
Amendment 84 places the new number on the self-affirmation of a returned mail ballot beside the signature the voter already writes there.
The measure's text contains no provision on envelope design and says nothing about covering or shielding the number.
The ballot title voters will read, set on April 15th by the Ballot Title Setting Board, describes the requirement as including the number on the outside of their mail ballot.
The Blue Book says county election offices will also be required to update ballot materials and envelopes.
In an April 1st review and comment memorandum, legislative staff asked the proponents, Are there specific safeguards to protect against public access to, or disclosure of, the personal identifying information required on the self-affirmation? At the April 3rd review and comment hearing, a designated representative said they believed that in the design of the envelope there can be a tab or a way to secure that away from the general public, according to the Amendment 84 entry in Kim Monson's 2026 Colorado Voters Guide, which cites the hearing recording.
Under current law, the county election office compares the signature on a returned mail ballot envelope with the voter's signature on file, and if they appear not to match, two election judges of different political parties review it, according to the Blue Book and CRS 1-7.5-17.3.
Some voters who have not voted in Colorado before must also include a copy of identification with their mail ballot under CRS 1-7.5-17.
Amendment 84 does not change the identification accepted from voters who vote in person.
Chuck Brorman and Suzanne Tehary, the measure's designated representatives, wrote in an April 8th Colorado Politics op-ed that for most Coloradans who vote by mail, the only thing tying their ballot back to them is a signature on the back of an envelope.
Brorman is the former El Paso County clerk and recorder, and Tahereh is an attorney and former Colorado Deputy Secretary of State.
If a voter leaves out all or part of the affirmation, or an election judge cannot match the number to the statewide voter registration database, the measure requires the county clerk and recorder to notify the voter of how to correct the discrepancy.
The clerk shall not count the ballot until the discrepancy is corrected, the text says.
Amendment 84 would require Colorado voters to write the last four digits of their Social Security number or Colorado driver's license or ID card number next to their signature on the mail ballot return envelope in federal and statewide elections.
Kim Monson changed her 2026 Colorado Voters Guide recommendation from yes to no over the risk of identity theft.
Amendment 84 on the November 3rd ballot would require Colorado voters returning a mail ballot in any federal or statewide election to include the last four digits of their Social Security number or Colorado Real Identification number or Colorado Real Identification driver's license number along with their signature on the ballot's self-affirmation.
Male ballots made up 92% of all ballots cast in Colorado in 2024, according to the 2026 Blue Book, the state's ballot information booklet prepared by Legislative Council staff.
Kim Monson said on the Kim Monson Show on October 12th that she first supported the measure.
I initially had been a yes on that because I think voter ID is such a good idea, she said.
However, as we were doing more analysis on it, I realized that you would not only be putting your signature on the outside of your envelope, but also the last four of your social security number or your Colorado driver's license or your Colorado real ID, and realized I think that this was a huge opportunity for the potential for identity theft, Kim Monson said, and so I changed my recommendation on that from a yes to a no.
The Amendment 84 entry in her 2026 Colorado Voters Guide now recommends a no vote In it, Kim Monson writes that she is very concerned about providing the numbers on the outside of the envelope that we return our ballots in.
Under CRS 1-7.5-107, the return envelope must have printed on it a self-affirmation, which the voter signs and dates.
The same statute says the envelope shall not be required to have a flap covering the signature or otherwise impede the use of a signature verification device.
Amendment 84 places the new number on the self-affirmation of a returned mail ballot beside the signature the voter already writes there.
The measure's text contains no provision on envelope design and says nothing about covering or shielding the number.
The ballot title voters will read, set on April 15th by the Ballot Title Setting Board, describes the requirement as including the number on the outside of their mail ballot.
The Blue Book says county election offices will also be required to update ballot materials and envelopes.
In an April 1st review and comment memorandum, legislative staff asked the proponents, Are there specific safeguards to protect against public access to, or disclosure of, the personal identifying information required on the self-affirmation? At the April 3rd review and comment hearing, a designated representative said they believed that in the design of the envelope there can be a tab or a way to secure that away from the general public, according to the Amendment 84 entry in Kim Monson's 2026 Colorado Voters Guide, which cites the hearing recording.
Under current law, the county election office compares the signature on a returned mail ballot envelope with the voter's signature on file, and if they appear not to match, two election judges of different political parties review it, according to the Blue Book and CRS 1-7.5-17.3.
Some voters who have not voted in Colorado before must also include a copy of identification with their mail ballot under CRS 1-7.5-17.
Amendment 84 does not change the identification accepted from voters who vote in person.
Chuck Brorman and Suzanne Tehary, the measure's designated representatives, wrote in an April 8th Colorado Politics op-ed that for most Coloradans who vote by mail, the only thing tying their ballot back to them is a signature on the back of an envelope.
Brorman is the former El Paso County clerk and recorder, and Tahereh is an attorney and former Colorado Deputy Secretary of State.
If a voter leaves out all or part of the affirmation, or an election judge cannot match the number to the statewide voter registration database, the measure requires the county clerk and recorder to notify the voter of how to correct the discrepancy.
The clerk shall not count the ballot until the discrepancy is corrected, the text says.
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