Who is running for Secretary of State in 2026?

Volunteer lobbyist, League of Women Voters of Colorado; better voting methods advocate

Celeste Landry is the Forward Party nominee for Colorado Secretary of State, 63, a longtime election advocate and volunteer lobbyist with the League of Women Voters³¹⁴. She describes herself as a nationally recognized expert on better voting methods who has voted in every Colorado election since 1994². Her priorities include primary participation for 17-year-olds who will be 18 by the general election and proportional representation⁴.

Where they stand 2 issues · tap any issue for the evidence

• Election rulesEasier access: automatic registration and mail voting for anyonemedium

  Said · medium confidence

  • Said she supports accessible voting options including mail-in ballots and multi-day vote centers, with electronic ballot return only for voters who have difficulty receiving or marking a mail ballot, plus paper ballots, logic and accuracy tests and risk-limiting audits. (2026-10-02) source
• Ranked-choice votingYes, use it for state and federal races toomedium

  Questionnaire answer · medium confidence

  • Wrote that she is the strongest candidate on advocating voting methods that let voters better express their opinions, including proportional representation, and that she wants the Secretary of State to write rules for cities that want to adopt proportional ranked voting. (2026) source
  • Wrote that she introduced Rep. Joe Neguse to the U.S. Fair Representation Act, which he has cosponsored every session. (2026) source

No public position found on: Redistricting, Electoral College, Campaign finance, Term limits.

Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder (since 2022)

Amanda Gonzalez is the Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder and the Democratic nominee for Colorado Secretary of State³⁴. She was elected clerk in 2022, and before that was director of Colorado Common Cause, an advocacy group focused on ballot access and limiting the influence of money in politics⁴². She won the June 30, 2026 Democratic primary over state Sen. Jessie Danielson⁴.

Where they stand 3 issues · tap any issue for the evidence

• Election rulesEasier access: automatic registration and mail voting for anyonemedium

  Said · medium confidence

  • Said Colorado's elections are safe and secure, that the mail ballot system is one reason voting is accessible, and that "we shouldn't dismantle a system that securely gives Coloradans the freedom to vote in the way that works for them." (2026-10-02) source
  • Her campaign site says as Jefferson County Clerk she has led efforts to expand ballot access and improve election security. (2026) source
• RedistrictingIndependent commissions draw maps, with a national ban on partisan gerrymanderingmedium

  Said · medium confidence

  • Her campaign site says that as executive director of Colorado Common Cause she worked to "establish the state's independent redistricting commission." (2026) source
• Campaign financeKeep spending legal but require groups to disclose their large donorsmedium

  Said · medium confidence

  • Said she supports modernizing campaign finance disclosure and strengthening disclosure requirements as new forms of political spending emerge, so voters can see who is behind political ads. (2026-10-02) source
  • Her campaign site says she worked to limit dark money in politics at Colorado Common Cause. (2026) source

No public position found on: Ranked-choice voting, Electoral College, Term limits.

Election-integrity advocate; founder, Union of Ballot Counters

James Wiley is the Republican nominee for Colorado Secretary of State and ran unopposed in the primary³⁴. He holds an MBA, has worked as a consultant and legal assistant, and says he founded the Union of Ballot Counters, an election-integrity group¹². He was raised in Kazakhstan and returned to Colorado, and he says the events of 2020 led him to full-time election-integrity work².

Where they stand 2 issues · tap any issue for the evidence

• Election rulesStrict photo ID, paper ballots, cleaner voter rolls and fewer mail ballotsmedium

  Said · medium confidence

  • Said Colorado should move toward one-day, in-person voting with government-issued voter ID, paper ballots and citizen-controlled counting, and that if mail ballots remain he would tighten verification with citizenship checks at registration and stronger ID and signature standards. (2026-10-02) source
  • His campaign site calls for one day of voting as a state holiday, in person in each precinct, with voter ID, paper ballots only and citizen-controlled ballot tabulation. (2026) source
• Campaign financeKeep spending legal but require groups to disclose their large donorslow

  Said · low confidence

  • Said he supports closing loopholes that hide dark money, plain-language searchable filings and stronger public auditability, while protecting lawful speech. (2026-10-02) source

No public position found on: Redistricting, Ranked-choice voting, Electoral College, Term limits.

Small business owner and Libertarian Party activist

Sean Vadney, 26, is the Libertarian nominee for Colorado Secretary of State³¹. He describes himself as a small business owner and political volunteer who finished second in the Libertarian primary and was added to the ballot after the winner withdrew and the party won a legal challenge to the Secretary of State's initial decision¹². His platform stresses secure elections with rigorous checks, accessible voting equipment, and simpler, cheaper business filings⁴⁵.

Where they stand 1 issues · tap any issue for the evidence

• Election rulesStrict photo ID, paper ballots, cleaner voter rolls and fewer mail ballotsmedium

  Said · medium confidence

  • Said he would roll back mail-in voting, with exceptions for people with disabilities, and make in-person voting the primary method with strict security measures. (2026-10-02) source

No public position found on: Redistricting, Electoral College, Campaign finance, Term limits, Ranked-choice voting.

Arvada resident; American Constitution Party candidate

Amanda Campbell of Arvada is the American Constitution Party nominee for Colorado Secretary of State¹². This is her sixth bid for the office; state records show she has filed to run every cycle since 2010². CPR reports her campaign website pledges governance grounded in strict adherence to constitutional values, and she has said the secretary of state should take a more active role in upholding the constitution rather than being a "glorified, overpaid file clerk"²³.

No public position found on: Election rules, Redistricting, Ranked-choice voting, Electoral College, Campaign finance, Term limits.