Gov. John Hickenlooper signed legislation today that sets rules for public review of voted ballots — a bill supporters say is necessary to prevent chaos in the November election, but critics call a blow to open government. Election integrity activists, members of the Colorado Lawyers Committee Election Task Force and groups such as Common Cause and Colorado Ethics Watch had flooded the governor’s office with letters asking him to veto House Bill 1036. Several of those opponents plan to file a lawsuit to stop the law from taking effect, activist Marilyn Marks said today. “Based on our familiarity with this bill and its flawed process, we believe that those legal challenges will be successful in striking down this law,” Marks said. “We hope that the litigation will have immediate impact prior to the upcoming elections where full transparency is unquestionably required.” Hickenlooper’s office is expected to issue a statement later today explaining why he signed the bill.
The Colorado County Clerks Association pushed for the legislation following a 2011 Colorado Court of Appeals ruling that made voted ballots public records. The clerks were concerned open records requests for ballots might overwhelm their offices, particularly around election time. They also feared that releasing ballots along with other election records may allow the public to determine how some people voted.
Full Article: Hickenlooper signs bill creating rules for public access to ballots – The Denver Post.