In the midst of so many heart-racing ballot measures, Referendum F is a humble item that would remove the deadlines associated with recall elections from the state constitution. It proposes that the legislature set recall rules by statute, giving election officials the flexibility to handle these chores in a more efficient fashion.
We encourage voters to cast a “yes” vote.
Here is some background:
The current deadlines for recall petitions were added to Colorado’s constitution in 1913, when a recall of the governor, for example, would have required a fraction of the signatures required today. In the event of a recall petition for the current governor, the constitutional deadlines could give election officials as few as five days to hear protests on the validity of 358,200 signatures.
By law, every state and local elected official in Colorado can be recalled before the end of their term. Allowing the deadlines for recall petitions, protests and hearings to be set by statute would provide election officials with more elbow room to schedule and conduct recalls.
Recalls happen infrequently and usually at the local level.
Referendum F would allow a recall to be held as part of a general election if the general is scheduled between 50 and 90 days after the time for filing a protest has passed and all protests have been decided. This, too, makes sense and could save taxpayer money.
In recent hearings, anti-tax activist Douglas Bruce was the only opponent, noting that no statewide official has ever been the subject of a recall. He worries that longer deadlines will give undesirable officials more time in office and more time to fight for their jobs. In addition, he’s taken issue with the referendum’s removal of a 15-day period for collecting more signatures to remedy a shortfall – a do-over provision that strikes us as untenable.
We believe the benefits of the measure outweigh these concerns. Referendum F would give the legislature flexibility to address changing circumstances such as population growth or new voting procedures.
There’s no point in keeping 93-year-old deadlines for recall elections in the constitution. “Yes” on F.
