Vowing to protect the right to vote for military personnel overseas, Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder Gilbert Ortiz announced Wednesday that he is joining the lawsuit between Secretary of State Scott Gessler and Denver Clerk and Recorder Debra Johnson.
Last week, Gessler, a Republican, sent a letter warning Ortiz that if he mailed ballots to inactive voters who are eligible to vote, he would be named in the lawsuit by Gessler’s office. Ortiz and Johnson are Democrats.
At the time, Ortiz said he would “reluctantly” comply with Gessler’s order not to mail ballots to 64 inactive military voters but indicated that the dispute of whether inactive voters should receive mail ballots was not over.
“The very least we can do for the men and women protecting our democracy overseas is ensure that if they are registered to vote, they have every opportunity to participate in our elections,” Ortiz said in a news release.
In September, Gessler sued Denver’s clerk and recorder, saying the law is clear that Denver cannot send ballots to inactive voters as it planned.
The lawsuit stated Gessler was challenging Denver to “ensure the uniformity of election processes throughout the state and to reduce the potential for fraud.”
A court hearing on the lawsuit is set for Friday.
Full Article: Pueblo County clerk joins lawsuit over ballots for inactive voters – The Denver Post.