League of Women Voters of Colorado expands Eyewitness Corps to boost local meeting coverage

Beth Hris of the League of Women Voters of Colorado outlined the League’s Observer Corps and the statewide Eyewitness Corps during the fifth session of the League’s activist training series.

Hris said the Observer Corps—an internal, long‑running League program—places trained, nonpartisan volunteers at government meetings to take factual notes and file reports for local League leaders. “When Observer Corps volunteers show up, they are exercising and defending that right given by the sunshine laws,” Hris said, arguing that observers deter officials from sidestepping open‑meetings rules and that their reports inform local advocacy priorities.

The Eyewitness Corps, Hris said, builds on a Larimer County pilot called the Colorado Citizen Observer and is intended to fill gaps in local news coverage by producing ready‑to‑publish meeting reports for newsrooms. The pilot trained roughly 20 community volunteers and partnered with outlets and organizations including the Open Media Foundation, Colorado Freedom of Information Coalition, the Center for Public Deliberation at Colorado State University, the Colorado Press Association, documenters.org and local public media. Hris said the pilot received funding from the Gates Family Foundation and that volunteer reports have been published on Substack and used in local public‑media output.

“Whether you’re someone who wants to show up, take notes, and share what happened, or a newsroom stretched thin that could use reliable civic coverage, Eyewitness Corps is here to help,” Hris said. She described Eyewitness as a distinct, Colorado‑focused program whose reports are published publicly, are open to non‑members, and are produced in collaboration with media partners so they can be used “as is or built on.”

Hris emphasized training and neutrality: Eyewitness and Observer volunteers receive guidance on public‑meeting rules, note‑taking, and writing clear, factual reports. She said observers should introduce themselves, wear name tags, avoid participating or reacting during meetings, and include in their reports the meeting date, the governmental body, attendance and quorum, motions and vote outcomes, key discussion points, and any procedural or notice‑related concerns.

The Eyewitness Corps offers stipends for published reports (Hris did not specify the dollar amount) to make participation accessible to people who cannot volunteer without compensation and prioritizes bilingual coverage (English and Spanish) to reach diverse communities. Hris also invited journalists to partner with Eyewitness Corps to receive free, ready‑to‑run civic reporting.

During Q&A, participants raised transparency concerns. One attendee noted that Colorado law does not require governing bodies to provide a public‑comment period and said the Douglas County Commission does not offer one; participants discussed whether a state‑level change would be needed to require public comment. Hris also highlighted growing use of long consent agendas and work sessions to decide items with limited public notice and suggested local advocacy campaigns as one response.

Hris described a concurrent League‑led effort to constitutionally codify the people’s right to know government affairs; she said the proposal was denied twice by the state title board and that the coalition chose not to appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court at this time, but plans to revisit the effort in 2028.

The League invited attendees to try observing a local meeting, sign up for Observer or Eyewitness training, and contact the state League to connect with local chapters. Hris said she will share the session recording and slides with registrants and offered follow‑up help connecting new volunteers with local leadership.

The session focused on training and outreach; there were no formal motions or votes taken during the training.