Denver’s disastrous November election and a history of mistakes have in all likelihood made the demise of the Denver Election Commission a not-if-but-when proposition.
Voters ultimately will decide the fate of the commission, but by Thursday proposals to scrap it in favor of an elected clerk and recorder had been endorsed by Mayor John Hickenlooper, his investigative task force, City Council members and Auditor Dennis Gallagher.
The only debate remaining among city officials is when voters will get their say.
City Council members decided Thursday to file a bill for a special election Jan. 30. Questions remain about whether a January election is even feasible. But with a deadline at noon Thursday, the prevailing theory among a City Council committee was to meet legislative deadlines now and scuttle the bill later if it cannot go forward.
The are two main concerns, including the basic logistics such as designing and printing ballots given such a short deadline. And the fact that a beleaguered Election Commission would have to run an election so quickly after November’s problem- plagued election.
Denver voters stood in line Nov. 7 for up to three hours, primarily because of problems with the software used to check in voters. Officials estimate that about 20,000 people didn’t vote because of the issues.
The election culminated more than a year of problems at the commission, including budget overruns, lost voter records and questionable management.
Councilman Charlie Brown suggested the Election Commission and its vendor, Sequoia Voting Systems Inc., should “say, ‘Cowboy up and let’s do this.”‘
But Councilwoman Marcia Johnson worried that a special January election would distract from preparations for May’s municipal elections.
“We are inviting and participating in a less than stellar election in May.”
Michael Hancock, the council president, said he would be very reluctant to pay the $617,000 estimated price, given that the Election Commission was $1.4 million over budget this year.
Reached later in the day, elections Commissioner Susan Rogers said the agency could hold an election at the end of next month.
“It is a pretty simple election,” Rogers said, noting that Sequoia confirmed it could print ballots in time. “We should be able to rock and roll with it if it happens.”
If the council decides against a special election, voters will probably see a question on the ballot in the May municipal election. If approved, Denver’s first elected clerk and recorder would be on the ballot in November.
The discussion Thursday was part of a three-hour meeting during which a council committee ironed out details on what the future of Denver election governance would look like.
The panel decided to propose replacing the three-member Election Commission with a single elected clerk and recorder system similar to what 62 of the 64 counties in the state use.
The council had been considering several options, but recommendations from a recent investigative panel helped sway council members.
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 303-954-1657 or gmerritt@denverpost.com.
