Colorado Revised Statutes Title 1. Elections § 1-7-309. Determination of improperly marked ballots

(1) Votes cast for an office to be filled or a ballot issue to be decided shall not be counted if an elector marks more names than there are persons to be elected to an office or if for any reason it is impossible to determine the elector's choice of candidate or vote concerning the ballot issue; except that an elector's rankings of multiple candidates in an election using instant runoff voting shall be recorded and counted in accordance with section 1-7-1003 and rules promulgated by the secretary of state.

(2) A defective or an incomplete cross mark on any ballot in a proper place shall be counted if no other cross mark appears on the ballot indicating an intention to vote for some other candidate or ballot issue.

(3) No ballot shall be counted unless it has the official endorsement required by section 1-7-302.

(4) Ballots not counted because of the election judges' inability to determine the elector's intent for all candidates and ballot issues shall be marked “defective” on the back, banded together and separated from the other ballots, returned to the ballot box, and preserved by the designated election official pursuant to section 1-7-801.

(5) When the election judges in any precinct discover in the counting of votes that the name of any write-in candidate voted for is misspelled or omitted in part, the vote for that candidate shall be counted if the writing meets the requirements of section 1-7-114(1).