A bill proposing Colorado’s elections be held almost exclusively by mail has drawn the support of Arapahoe County Clerk and Recorder Nancy Doty. She says hundreds of thousands of dollars could be saved in the county.

At the same time, the measure has garnered the opposition of Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler. His office says the cost-savings estimates are overblown.

House Bill 1131 was introduced in the state Legislature last month. Its primary sponsor is state Rep. Carole Murray, a Republican whose district includes southern Douglas County.

The bill’s summary of state and local fiscal impact estimates a savings of $8.2 million across Colorado.

HB 1131 would require all general, primary, odd-year, recall and congressional vacancy elections to be conducted as mail-ballot elections. There would be exceptions for smaller counties in which mail-in elections could be more expensive than traditional voting.

On Feb. 7, Doty released an analysis of how an all-mail election would have impacted Arapahoe County during the 2010 general election. More than half a million dollars would have been saved, the report says.

“Our citizens need to know, that if allowed, we can conduct their elections for half the current cost,” Doty said.

Doty confirmed Feb. 8 that she backs the legislation.

“I do support it for a couple of reasons: It is cost effective. And for most voters, it is the preferred voting method.”

About 80 percent of Arapahoe’s 201,000 voters last fall did so by mail, according to statistics provided by the clerk’s office.

A spokesman for Gessler said HB 1131 is not all it is advertised to be.

“Proponents are overstating the cost savings,” Andrew Cole said.

Cole noted that counties would still be required to provide service centers, where ballots could be dropped off and accommodations could be made for some to vote in person, in certain cases.

For general and primary elections, the number of service centers in a county would be at least equal to the number of motor vehicle offices in the county, the bill says.

There also would be an increased cost associated with mailing out more ballots, the spokesman said.

Gessler — like Doty, a Republican — is willing to work with county clerks on finding other ways to save money, Cole said.