This Is Not a Way to Run an Election

The Colorado General Assembly adjourns sine die on May 12, 2010.  The November election that will decide the State’s next Governor and United States Senator is about six months away, while a hotly contested primary for both parties is much sooner than that – August 10.  Representative and Speaker Terrance Carroll and Secretary of State Bernie Buescher now appear to want to radically change the way in which the 2010 elections will be conducted.  I hope they reconsider. 

 Colorado’s elections have faced major challenges the last eight years as the State has had to resolve issues related to the implementation of the Help America Vote Act, provisional ballots, electronic voting machines (and their on-again, off-again, on-again certification), the rise (and now fall in some places) of vote centers, and voter registration fraud by ACORN and others.  We also have had to confront the fact that while elections have become more complicated, it has been difficult to devise and implement training regimens that will insure that our mostly volunteer corps of election judges is keeping up with all of this.  On the eve of the primary and general elections, now is not the time to change the rules yet again.

 As of the date of this posting, a draft bill that will transform the way that elections are held in Colorado sits on the desk of the Speaker of the State House of Representatives (a Democrat) while he attempts to cajole the County Clerk and Recorders to provide him some measure of support (some are arguing political cover) for it.  At the same time, some have reported that the Secretary of State (also a Democrat) has been involved in the drafting of the bill behind the scenes.  The County Clerk and Recorders did not receive a draft of the bill until the beginning of April, and the Republican Party was simply kept in the dark.

 The bill has a distinctly union flavor to it.  It provides for same day registration, mandates that a mail ballot be sent to each voter (active and inactive), and more importantly, allows for groups like unions and ACORN to pick up those ballots.  Same day registration poses particular problems.  Colorado does not require photo identification to register. Allowing same day registration using a utility bill or a bank statement as the only prerequisite for casting a regular ballot is a radical step away from insuring integrity of the ballot.  The bill creates, dramatically, the potential to vote twice, but, in the same breath, substantially weakens the State’s ability to punish such double voting should it occur by making it more difficult to prosecute such behavior.

 We should continue to discuss the costs for running elections, the use of mail ballots, and whether the benefits of preserving the ability to cast a vote on election day at a polling location justify the expense.  However, every change that advances one goal carries with it one or more unintended consequences.  Election procedures necessarily involve trade-offs, and they need to be thoroughly evaluated before fundamental changes are made. 

The Secretary of State made a major and positive step in setting up a bi-partisan Elections Best Practices and Vision Commission. The Secretary promulgated a formal rule to create the Commission, and the Secretary just selected the Commission members.  The Secretary created the Commission to consider the very changes that are being proposed by this 11th hour “modernization” bill.

 Colorado is far from reaching a consensus on the mail vs. polling place debate, and there is vehement disagreement over same-day registration and the risks it poses to the integrity of the ballot.  I’ve heard or seen no justification for allowing roving gangs of mail ballot gathers to collect ballots.  The potential for abuse in this regard is staggering.  Shouldn’t the Secretary’s Best Practices Commission be given a chance to do its job and consider these serious issues free of partisan taint?  The Secretary should follow through on what he started with his Commission by letting it evaluate the very changes proposed by the “modernization” bill.  Moreover, all citizens should voice their concerns about this reckless attempt to change the rules so late in the game.