Cameras and police patrols at polling places in Pueblo County

PUEBLO — The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office has activated its emergency operations center at least through election night. That means camera surveillance and patrolling officers and deputies at polling places.

Staff at the emergency center monitor polling places and polling stations in real time.

“Most of us are regulars, watching the cameras to see if there’s a fight going on, if people are trying to steal a mailbox, if people are trying to set a mailbox on fire,” said Joshua Johnson, emergency management coordinator for the Sheriff’s Office.

“We don’t actually spy or track who people vote for,” Johnson said.

The Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office said there were no issues that didn’t require extra security, but it wanted to be proactive.

A father-son duo dropped off their ballots in person and said they felt more comfortable doing so knowing extra security measures were in place.

“To do this in a way that we have no excuses, we have to come down, we have to vote, we have to make your voice heard, that means a lot, I really appreciate Pueblo County for making sure we were safe while doing this,” said James Odette.

Odette said she was confident her son cast his vote. “I was afraid that if I was seen dropping two votes it would cause trouble.”

“It would be a little weird if someone wanted to take my ballot, but I’m not really worried about it,” Kenney Baker said. “If there are a few bad actors then I’m sure they will be caught.”

I saw a Pueblo Police car drive by as people waited patiently for county election workers to pick up their ballots.

“I’ve never felt like voting was unsafe, but with increased awareness of fair elections, it’s good to have security here,” Tom Herzog said.

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