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Colorado reconsiders voter review
Kristen Wyatt - The Associated Press
Issue date: 10/10/08 Section: News
DENVER - Colorado is reviewing the way it deals with potentially ineligible voters after questions were raised about whether officials are violating federal law by putting such voters on a "cancel" list within 90 days of the election.
Secretary of State Mike Coffman said Thursday he asked lawyers to determine whether a federal prohibition on "systematic" voter purging so close to the election would apply to Colorado's reviews of voter lists.
He said Colorado's review isn't "systematic" because it's being done by people, not computers.
"We want to see where our process fits within the law," he said.
The issue is especially sensitive because Colorado is a swing state with the potential to decide a close presidential election.
Coffman insisted state election officials have done nothing wrong by reviewing a new statewide voter database to cancel duplicate or ineligible voters. But he said the procedure will be reviewed in light of reports in The New York Times and by a watchdog group that the procedure is illegal so close to an election.
Coffman said some 2,454 voters may be restored if the procedure violates law. He said he thinks the review is proper but added, "if it's not, we'll simply reinstate them."
The Times reported Thursday that Colorado officials, as well as officials in some other battleground states, have been improperly weeding out or "purging" voters within 90 days of the election. That report follows a similar argument made by the nonpartisan watchdog group U.S. PIRG last month.
Colorado officials said several times Thursday that listing a voter as "canceled" is not the same as a purge because those voters could still cast provisional ballots if they showed up at polls and could show they were improperly tossed.
"There's no such thing as a purge," said Colorado elections division program manager William Browning. "They can show up and still be allowed to cast a provisional ballot."
But the nuance did not impress elections watchdogs, who pointed out that the difference means little to voters. Even purged voters would be allowed to cast provisional ballots under federal law.
Secretary of State Mike Coffman said Thursday he asked lawyers to determine whether a federal prohibition on "systematic" voter purging so close to the election would apply to Colorado's reviews of voter lists.
He said Colorado's review isn't "systematic" because it's being done by people, not computers.
"We want to see where our process fits within the law," he said.
The issue is especially sensitive because Colorado is a swing state with the potential to decide a close presidential election.
Coffman insisted state election officials have done nothing wrong by reviewing a new statewide voter database to cancel duplicate or ineligible voters. But he said the procedure will be reviewed in light of reports in The New York Times and by a watchdog group that the procedure is illegal so close to an election.
Coffman said some 2,454 voters may be restored if the procedure violates law. He said he thinks the review is proper but added, "if it's not, we'll simply reinstate them."
The Times reported Thursday that Colorado officials, as well as officials in some other battleground states, have been improperly weeding out or "purging" voters within 90 days of the election. That report follows a similar argument made by the nonpartisan watchdog group U.S. PIRG last month.
Colorado officials said several times Thursday that listing a voter as "canceled" is not the same as a purge because those voters could still cast provisional ballots if they showed up at polls and could show they were improperly tossed.
"There's no such thing as a purge," said Colorado elections division program manager William Browning. "They can show up and still be allowed to cast a provisional ballot."
But the nuance did not impress elections watchdogs, who pointed out that the difference means little to voters. Even purged voters would be allowed to cast provisional ballots under federal law.
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Peace Love
posted 10/11/08 @ 3:37 PM MST
I know that my transcript was faked, and my application is filled with lies, and more lies...
And I know that my tuition checked bounced, and my name really isn't Albert Einstein as I indicated. (Continued…)
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