Only 19 percent of Denver’s voters cast ballots in Tuesday’s city election. It was a blown opportunity for the city to recover the credibility of its troubled election system.
Instead of citizen discourse over the council’s proposal to replace Denver’s dysfunctional election commission with an elected clerk and recorder, the council cooked up a snap election tailor-made to ensure muzzled debate, low turnout and certain victory for the home team.
Mission Accomplished! Voters stayed home in droves. And no wonder: the election lacked any run-up and all identity. Untold thousands didn’t even know there was an election.
Long lines? Not to worry. How about no lines! No need for voters to analyze the attack ads or the bumper stickers.
Cost to the taxpayer: about $600,000.
The first election since last November should have been an effort to accomplish two equally important aims: to ditch the clunky three-person election commission structure and to rebuild trust with voters disgusted by the multiple failures that made November’s election a laughing stock.
The first goal won the support of 36,461 of the city’s 276,839 registered voters – or about 13 percent.
But the city didn’t even get close on the second half of the equation – the trust-building part. Thousands of residents who care about city policy overlooked the election and the mail ballot. Preoccupied by the holidays and multiple snowstorms, it was easy to miss the ballot amid the post-holiday credit-card offers.
The question should have been placed on the May ballot with the city’s mayoral and council elections. That would have encouraged a respectable turnout and credible results.
As we’ve said on a number of occasions, we support the governing structure change.Now it’s time to look ahead.
There are several important points to keep an eye on. The City Council still must set salaries for the new clerk and recorder and the elections specialist who will actually run balloting in Denver. Wayne Vaden held the clerk’s job in the old structure, earning $95,154 annually. John Gaydeski, the elections specialist, made $86,580.
In what could prove to be an important matter, councilmembers gave themselves the option to set qualifications for the elections job. The public will watch closely to make sure there are no further shenanigans, such as a move that would smooth the playing field to benefit one candidate or another.
The council can unfurl now the Mission Accomplished banner, but residents can’t take any satisfaction in this low-turnout election.
