Coloradans, like all Americans, deserve to have an election system they can trust, but recently that has been an elusive goal. Two measures approved by state lawmakers Monday move us down the right path.
Senate Bills 198 and 206 were “merged” late Monday to become identical bills that strengthen and clarify Colorado election rules. We applaud members of the Senate and House, Secretary of State Donetta Davidson and Gov. Bill Owens for hammering out compromise language as the 2005 session edged toward adjournment.
The next step is for Owens to sign and for election officials across the state to update their procedures.
The key provisions of SB 198 required counties to implement verifiable paper trails to back up electronic voting machines by 2010. Chris Castilian, the governor’s chief lobbyist, called it an “unfunded mandate” that would cost the counties a great deal of money. Senate Majority Leader Ken Gordon, the bill’s chief sponsor, said “it’s important for people to have a verifiable paper trail so we can verify elections. … It’s very important for Americans to have confidence in the results of elections.” That’s the key.
SB 206 was put forth by the secretary of state based on recommendations from an advisory panel. Its key provision required people who conduct voter registration drives to register with the secretary of state and turn in registration forms within five days. It prohibits those people conducting the drives from paying workers based on the number of applications they hand out or collect. We strongly endorse this provision. The practice of paying per application practically invites fraud.
A compromise on provisional ballots marks an important improvement. It will allow voters who go to the wrong precinct – if the person is “unable” to get to the correct one – to vote for federal and statewide offices. Gordon’s original bill would have allowed such voters to vote in all races, while Davidson’s bill would have allowed provisional voting only for president and vice president, as was the case in 2004. That’s too narrow.
Sen. Ron Tupa, sponsor of Davidson’s bill, said that while he is concerned that the compromise will mean provisional voters will disenfranchise themselves from local elections, overall he believes the election reform measures make for a better system. A key amendment to the bills will prohibit a secretary of state from chairing a federal or statewide campaign, reminiscent of Florida’s Katherine Harris, who chaired George W. Bush’s campaign in 2000 or Kenneth Blackwell, who served double duty in Ohio in 2004.
