Colorado: Sweeping elections bill clears first hurdle before House committee | Denver Post

Colorado could change the way America votes, but first the Voter Access and Modernized Elections Act has to make its way through the Colorado statehouse. And that’s going to be a tall order. The ground-breaking proposal would send mail ballots to every voter, allow Election Day registration and put all the counties on a real-time statewide database that supporters say would weed out cheaters who try to vote twice. The bill cleared its first legislative hurdle Monday evening when it passed the House’s State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee by a 7-4 party line vote, after more than seven and a half hours of testimony from dozens of public officials and otherwise private individuals on each side. it now moves to the House appropriations committee.

Colorado: Rep. Hullinghorst says elections measure would modernize voter-registration, ballot-casting systems | Longmont Times-Call

House Majority Leader Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, the sponsor of a bill that would move Colorado to a predominantly mail-ballot system, said Thursday that the measure amounts to “a 21st Century approach to voting.” Gunbarrel Democrat Hullinghorst’s House Bill 1303, which was introduced Wednesday, would require Colorado’s county clerks to send mail ballots to all eligible registered voters, including those who under current law are on “inactive” lists because they didn’t participate in a recent general election. People could mail their completed ballots back or drop them off at designated locations. Voters who prefer showing up in person to cast their ballots still could do so, at early-voting centers before Election Day, or at centralized voting locations on Election Day. County clerks would no longer have to provide neighborhood precinct polling places. Hullinghorst said her bill — entitled the “Voter Access and Modernized Elections Act” — would provide “full voting options for all of the voters in the state of Colorado” while simplifying and standardizing voter-registration and ballot-casting systems for would-be voters and for county clerks.

Colorado: Reassessing Colorado’s Turnout | Michael P. McDonald/Huffington Post

Colorado legislators are contemplating changes to their election laws this week that may result in higher turnout. A report issued by Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler figures prominently in the deliberations, which triumphantly touts “the most successful (election) in Colorado history,” implying that no changes are needed. However, claims in the report that Colorado’s voter turnout increased compared to 2008, while turnout declined elsewhere are not supported by the facts. I reassess the report with the best available data — my United States Elections Project — which the Colorado Secretary of State’s office analyzed selectively. With Colorado considering changes to its election laws, policy makers should make their decisions with the most accurate information.

Colorado: Democratic elections bill includes same-day registration | KDVR.com

Heading into the final month of a highly partisan and controversial legislative session in which they’ve already passed civil unions, in-state tuition and gun control legislation, Democrats aren’t letting up. On Wednesday, Democratic lawmakers will introduce another bill guaranteed to spark yet another political battle royale: an omnibus elections bill that will allow residents to register to vote as late as Election Day and direct county clerks to mail ballots to every voter. “This is a partisan power play,” said Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler, a Republican, who says the bill’s backers didn’t include his office or any GOP lawmakers in drafting the legislation. “It is not a bipartisan effort to have all voices at the table.” Last November, nearly three of every four Colorado voters cast their ballots by mail.

Colorado: GOP is sharply critical of election-access bill | The Cortez Journal

Coloradans would vote primarily by mail, and they could register to vote on Election Day, under a bill Democrats are proposing at the state Capitol. Neighborhood polling places at schools and churches would be a thing of the past, and in-person voting would happen at a few centralized voting centers in each county, if the bill passes. Even before it has been introduced, the bill has touched off a partisan fight. But the Colorado County Clerks Association supports the bill. Many clerks, like Montezuma County’s Carol Tullis, are Republicans and still support the bill. “It sounds good on the surface,” Tullis said.

Colorado: Bill offers more mail ballots, Election-Day registration | The Denver Post

Democrats are expected to introduce a sweeping elections bill Wednesday that would allow residents to register to vote through Election Day, and send mail ballots to every voter, according to a draft of the bill obtained by The Denver Post. The measure is expected to launch another partisan battle under the gold dome, as Republican leaders, including Secretary of State Scott Gessler, say the legislation would lead to voter fraud. The bill, prompted by the state’s county clerks, will put real-time technology to work on elections, save voters time and ultimately save taxpayers money, said Rep. Dan Pabon of Denver, the House assistant majority leader. “We’re not voting the way we did in the 19th century,” he said. “We’re not still voting the way we did in much of the 20th century. It’s time to bring our elections into the 21st century.” Those who still want to vote in person will be able to go to an election service center open at least 15 days before the election, The Colorado County Clerks Association, which asked for many of the provisions in a letter to lawmakers last November, said 74 percent of the state’s residents already voted by mail.

Colorado: Election measure sure to bring fight | The Durango Herald

Coloradans would vote primarily by mail, and they could register to vote on Election Day under a bill Democrats are proposing at the state Capitol. Neighborhood polling places at schools and churches would be a thing of the past, and in-person voting would happen at a few centralized voting centers in each county, if the bill passes. Even before it has been introduced, the bill has touched off a partisan fight. But La Plata County Clerk Tiffany Lee Parker, a Republican, supports the bill and says it’s not a partisan issue. “To me, this is really bipartisan. This makes sense. This is not Republican versus Democrat,” Parker said.

Colorado: Democrats push for big election changes | The Denver Post

Colorado Democrats are planning sweeping changes to how elections are run in the state, to the dismay of Republican leaders who say they’ve been excluded from crafting a bill that that would allow same-day voter registration and require mailed ballots to every eligible voter. A bill of more than 100 pages is expected to be introduced this week, likely sparking a big partisan fight over whether the changes benefit one party over the other. Supporters of the changes, which also include eliminating the so-called “inactive voter” status, say the goal is to make voting more accessible. “I think people are like me, they just want people engaged in the Democratic process,” said Democratic Sen. Angela Giron, one of the bill sponsors. She insisted they didn’t exclude Republicans from the process. Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler, who oversees elections and has butted heads with Democrats on a range of issues, said the bill was “written in complete secrecy excluding anyone who may have a different point of view.”

Colorado: Gessler slams election bills; blasts Democrats | Colorado Statesman

A more than 100-page sweeping election reform bill is likely to be introduced by Democrats in the Senate next week, covering everything from moving voter registration deadlines to mailing ballots to inactive voters. Even before the bill has reached its final draft, Secretary of State Scott Gessler and fellow Republicans have pounced on the proposal, concerned that the bill would create same-day voter registration. The GOP is also critical of what they consider to be a “secretive” drafting process. Gessler said he hasn’t yet seen a draft of the bill. Sen. Angela Giron, D-Pueblo, said she would carry the late bill when it is introduced by the end of next week. Assistant Majority Leader Dan Pabon, D-Denver, and Majority Leader Dickey Lee Hullinghorst, D-Boulder, would be the House sponsors.

Colorado: Election watcher renews objections about Boulder County’s ballot sorting machine | Longmont Times-Call

Longmont resident Jim August on Tuesday renewed his call for Boulder County’s commissioners to get rid of what he now calls a “piece of junk” — a mail ballot sorting and signature scanning machine the county bought for $220,000 last year. August, who made a similar appeal to the Board of County Commissioners last month, expressed dissatisfaction with an emailed answer from the commissioners late Monday afternoon, in which they wrote that Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Hillary Hall “has indicated to us that the equipment served its intended function during the (2012 general) election, allowing election staff to efficiently process mail ballot envelopes as they were delivered.”

Colorado: Questions linger following election canvass | Center Post Dispatch

Although the election canvass totals matched the votes cast for Center’s March 19 recall election, questions remain on why the canvass was conducted without checking mail-in ballot signatures against the State’s SCORE system. Town Clerk and Treasurer Christian Samora and Center Municipal Judge James Sanchez conducted the canvass, counting ballots, but not the actual results of the various races. Recalled candidates John Faron and Moe Jones requested, last week ,that during the canvass the signatures be checked with the system to verify that those who signed the ballot were those who received it in the mail. This comes after reports of rogue ballots being circulated by the recall committee in Center and several challenges made during the election process by watchers.

Colorado: Ethics commission delays release of Gessler probe once again | The Denver Post

The state’s ethics commission on Friday again postponed release of an ethics probe of Secretary of State Scott Gessler after his legal team filed motions accusing the commission, one of its members and its executive director of unfairness. “There is a cloud over the commission’s preliminary handling of this case,” the motions from Gessler argue. A Denver district judge last week denied Gessler’s effort to halt the investigation by the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission. Gessler’s attorneys have argued the commission has no jurisdiction in what may be a criminal case arising from allegations the Republican misspent state funds for political purposes by attending a meeting of GOP lawyers last year and piggybacking on a trip to the Republican National Convention.

Colorado: Judge denies halting ethics probe of Gessler; appeal coming | The Denver Post

Amid questions over the very meaning of the word “ethics,” a Denver judge on Thursday rejected Secretary of State Scott Gessler’s request to block the Colorado Independent Ethics Commission from investigating his spending of office funds. David Lane, an attorney for Gessler, said the secretary of state would appeal District Judge Herbert Stern’s decision to the Colorado Supreme Court and expected the court to act within a week or so. That appeal could once again halt the ethics commission from releasing the report of its investigation at its Feb. 15 meeting. The commission had planned to release the report at its Monday meeting, but Gessler, a Republican, last week sued the commission and sought a temporary restraining order to halt its investigation and thus prevent release of the report.

Colorado: Bill to cancel suspected noncitizen voters fails | FOX21News

Democrats rejected a GOP proposal to cancel voter registrations of people believed not to be U.S. citizens. The bill would have required election officials to check voter rolls against national and state immigration databases to verify citizenship. Election officials would then have hearings for people to show proof of citizenship, or have their registration canceled. Democrats say eligible voters could be disenfranchised because the databases are not reliable.

Colorado: Audit of Gessler’s expenses won’t move forward | Colorado Springs Gazette

An investigation into how Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler uses his discretionary fund, prompted by travel to political events, won’t move forward because lawmakers deadlocked Tuesday on whether to proceed. Democrats have criticized Gessler for getting reimbursed $1,570 for travel to the Republican National Convention and a GOP election law training event in Florida, saying it was improper use of public funds. But they failed to get Republican support for a legislative investigation to advance, and their request failed on a 4-4 vote in the legislative audit committee. Democrats wanted state auditor to look at all expenses from Gessler’s discretionary fund since he took office in January 2011. It was a matter of maintaining the public trust, Democrats said. “It lowers the public trust of public elected officials when discretionary funds are used for political purposes,” said Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton, one of the lawmakers requesting an audit.

Colorado: Colorado judge denies Scott Gessler on “inactive voters” lawsuit | The Denver Post

A Colorado state district court judge on Monday ruled that state law allows county clerks the authority to send ballots to “inactive failed to vote” voters in mail-in-only elections. The decision comes in a case where Secretary of State Scott Gessler sued Denver County Clerk and Recorder Debra Johnson in 2011 for sending mail ballots to such so-called “inactive” voters. District Court Judge Edward D. Bronfin ruled against Gessler — an election-law attorney — saying that Johnson’s interpretation of the law is correct and that clerks statewide are permitted to mail ballots to inactive voters.

Colorado: Bill would boost voting rights for those in youth correctional facilities | Westword

If they are eligible to vote, individuals in youth correctional facilities should be able to cast ballots. That’s the thinking of Representative Paul Rosenthal, who is pushing a bill that would make clear the voting rights of those in Division of Youth Corrections custody.
The proposal is personal: As a teacher at one of these facilities, Rosenthal has seen firsthand how frustrating it is when eligible students can’t vote. “This is pretty commonsense,” Rosenthal says. “I’m only putting into statute what is currently practiced.” Rosenthal, a Democrat and first-time lawmaker who now represents parts of Denver, explains that the standard practice in Colorado is that individuals in youth correctional facilities who meet all the legal requirements to vote are allowed to vote. But, he says, confusion around their rights and what documentation they need makes it even harder for them to obtain what the paperwork they need in time to vote.

Colorado: Investigation into Gessler’s use of public funds continues | Colorado Statesman

The state’s independent ethics commission on Monday rejected requests by attorneys for Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler to drop an investigation into his alleged inappropriate use of public dollars. Liberal-leaning Colorado Ethics Watch, which filed a complaint against Gessler with the four-member bipartisan Independent Ethics Commission, has produced records showing that taxpayers funded the secretary’s trip to attend a Republican National Lawyers Association event in Sarasota, Fla. at the time the Republican National Convention was taking place in Tampa, Fla. State law prohibits expenditure of state funds for anything other than “official state business purposes only.” The same applies for discretionary spending, though it is at the prudence of elected officials.

Colorado: Doubts still plague Boulder’s election results despite Colorado ruling | Boulder Weekly

Questions continue to swirl around activists’ complaints regarding irregularities in the Boulder County election process, and while the secretary of state has largely brushed aside the concerns, a local elections official says the clerk and recorder’s office will take them seriously. Boulder Weekly reported in early September that there was evidence that ballots could be traced back to individual voters, and election concerns have snowballed ever since. But in a Dec. 31 letter accepting the county’s vote totals, Deputy Secretary of State Suzanne Staiert dismissed most of the allegations outlined in a Nov. 26 report written by the majority of the local canvass board, which declined to certify the results of the election.

Colorado: Gessler: Colorado not yet ready for Internet vote | Fort Morgan Times

Fort Morgan played host on Monday to the Colorado Secretary of State, Scott Gessler, who wanted to hear what Morgan County folks had to say about last November’s General Election. At the Fort Morgan stop on Gessler’s statewide listening tour, the small group of area residents, elected officials and county elections shared what they learned from the election, what worked and what could have gone better. Gessler had said that he was in favor of creating a statewide voting system that all Colorado counties would use for elections. … Morgan County Commissioner Laura Teague asked Gessler about the possibility of people voting through the Internet. “There is talk, but we’re not there yet,” Gessler said. “Frankly, I don’t know if we’ll ever be.” He said the problems with Internet-based voting included no guarantee of anonymity for the voter and that the system theoretically could be hacked, potentially compromising the election’s security.

Colorado: HAVA complaint filed in Saguache County election | Center Post Dispatch

Election integrity advocate Marilyn Marks has filed a Help America Vote Act (HAVA) complaint with the Colorado Secretary of State’s Office concerning the Saguache County 2012 General Election. The complaint was filed after examination of M-100 machine tapes showed apparent discrepancies in the vote tabulation. Marks’ activities in Saguache County came under fire this summer and fall prior to the general election after commissioners candidates Jason Anderson and Ken Anderson, who later won their election bids made it clear they felt Marks was unjustly interfering in Saguache County business and should butt out.

Colorado: Legislators hear concerns of county clerks | Colorado Statesman

Colorado’s county clerks have gotten off to an early start lobbying the legislature for election reforms after the previous session in which several proposals were killed during a divisive election year. The County Clerks Association met with lawmakers on Monday for an informational session to outline several proposals ranging from an all-mail ballot delivery system to shortening voter registration deadlines and eliminating contention surrounding mailing ballots to inactive voters. “Our goal today is to start a conversation on providing convenient, transparent and legal elections,” Donetta Davidson, former secretary of state and current executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, told the small group of lawmakers. Several of the legislators represented members of the House and Senate State, Veterans and Military Affairs committees, which will likely be the first committees to see the bills. “Obviously accessibility and integrity is one of the issues; balancing those and making sure we meet those,” continued Davidson.

Colorado: Death threats made against the Colorado Secretary of State | 9news.com

On Aug. 28, the day Ann Romney spoke at the GOP convention in Tampa, a disturbing phone call came into the Secretary of State’s Office in Denver. Gessler’s office was flooded with phone calls after he publicly announced a plan to identify illegal immigrants who are voting in Colorado. Gessler was at the convention in Florida when he learned of a threatening call, described in a newly released report from the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Read the full CBI report

Colorado: Door Opened on Investigation Against Scott Gessler | KREX

Colorado lawmakers have opened the door for an investigation of Republican Secretary of State Scott Gessler’s use of public funds. Members of the state’s audit committee unanimously gave approval to conduct research for an audit into Gessler’s trip to the Republican National Convention in Florida..and a GOP election law training event.

Colorado: Sticker shock nixes Republican’s recount effort | Boulder Weekly

A Republican candidate for state legislature requested a recount of Boulder County’s election results last week in an effort to give election integrity activists an opportunity to examine concerns about how the election was run. But now Ellyn Hilliard, who ran unsuccessfully against Democrat Jonathan Singer for state representative from District 11, has withdrawn her request after being told by Boulder County Clerk and Recorder Hillary Hall’s office that the recount would cost her nearly $28,000. (Candidates requesting recounts must pay for them unless the recount is automatically triggered by margin of victory of 0.5 percent or less.)

Colorado: Election officials across Colorado push for voting overhauls by lawmakers | The Coloradoan

In the run-up to a presidential election, storms of emotions from all sides of the aisle color the months of October and November like the burnt-orange leaves that carpet a lawn. Come December, the electorate’s attention turns to gingerbread, candy canes, sleigh rides and stocking stuffers. But the potholes that mar the road to democracy are fresh in the minds of election officials. So Colorado’s county clerks have developed a list — not for Santa, but for state lawmakers — to remedy a handful of persistent thorny issues well in advance of the next general election almost two years from now.

Colorado: GOP cites voting-machine errors | The Denver Post

The Republican National Committee on Thursday called upon Secretary of State Scott Gessler and elections officials elsewhere to look into reports of malfunctioning touch-screen voting machines that may be casting votes for Barack Obama when a voter meant to pick Mitt Romney. In Colorado, Republican officials pointed to a single example of a malfunctioning machine in Mesa County. The GOP asked that voting machines be recalibrated before the polls open Tuesday, that extra technicians be provided and that polling places remind voters to double-check before submitting their selections. In Arapahoe County, where touch-screen machines are the principal means of in-person voting, Clerk Nancy Doty, a Republican, said the request to recalibrate the machines on Election Day was unreasonable. “We have 650 machines,” Doty said. “They’ve already been tested.”

Colorado: Potential voting machine error could cast incorrect ballot | 9news.com

The Colorado Secretary of State’s Office is reviewing a letter from the Republican National Committee that claims action needs to be taken to remedy reports of voting machine errors. The letter, released Thursday, was written to election officials in six states, including Colorado. The Secretary of State’s Office is currently reviewing the requests in the letter. The RNC writes, “In a significant number of cases, voting machines in your states have populated a vote for Barack Obama when a voter cast his or her ballot for Mitt Romney.” The RNC requests four actions to “mitigate any potential machine errors.”

Colorado: GOP cites voting-machine errors | The Denver Post

The Republican National Committee on Thursday called upon Secretary of State Scott Gessler and elections officials elsewhere to look into reports of malfunctioning touch-screen voting machines that may be casting votes for Barack Obama when a voter meant to pick Mitt Romney. In Colorado, Republican officials pointed to a single example of a malfunctioning machine in Mesa County.

Colorado: 3 Colorado counties’ touch-screen voting machines worry activists | The Denver Post

For months, a group of election activists has complained about Secretary of State Scott Gessler’s oversight of touch-screen voting machines used throughout Colorado that critics say are vulnerable to tampering and malfunctions. Gessler argues strongly that the voting machines are reliable, but critics say that in a close presidential election in swing state Colorado, and in places like Arapahoe County — where touch-screen machines are still the principal means of casting an in-person ballot — a mishap with the devices could tilt the race. Colorado’s touch-screen machines, they say, could become the “hanging chads” of 2012. “The secretary of state has not enforced his own voting security laws and regulations for touch-screen machines since he was elected,” said Paul Hultin, an attorney representing a group of voters who brought a 2006 lawsuit challenging the machines’ reliability.