The Senate on Tuesday turned an annual election-code cleanup into a broad overhaul that would let felons on parole vote and close public access to ballots cast in questionable elections.
The bill also would increase oversight of vote centers and institute a “Joe Lieberman clause” to keep primary losers from running in the general election under a different party. Lieberman, a Connecticut U.S. senator, lost the Democratic primary but was re-elected as an independent in the general election.
After more than three hours of debate that spanned two days, the Senate initially approved on party lines the bill that sponsor Sen. Ron Tupa, D-Boulder, said was intended to prevent the Election Day debacles of last year, when long lines and delayed results were encountered in Denver, Douglas and Montrose counties.
But election watchdogs said a provision limiting public access to ballots would make it impossible for the public and media organizations to review results, such as those during the contested 2000 presidential election.
“Open access was essential for reviewing the 2000 election in Florida, … which ended up showing that the results were different than those certified,” Jeff Cook, with the group Honest Elections, said in an e-mail to the media. “… It is the opposite of what needs to be done and is another example of the government fixing a problem that does not exist.”
Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, on Monday won approval of an amendment to change original language declaring that ballots are not public records to a provision allowing people to seek court orders to review ballots.
But he said he decided that provision was still too onerous and tried without success Tuesday to remove it with an amendment that would have opened the records but directed the secretary of state to develop rules to protect the integrity of ballots.
Senate President Joan Fitz- Gerald, D-Jefferson County, was among the leading opponents, arguing that ballots are secret and should not be opened “for anything less frivolous than a court order.”
She argued that new Republican Secretary of State Mike Coffman “has never run an election in his life, … and county clerks are very concerned” about such a provision.
The bill, which is set for a final vote today, would require counties to have better backup computer systems to avoid problems such as Denver encountered in the November elections, when its pollbook software for checking in voters caused hours-long delays. It also would direct the secretary of state to establish rules for overseeing counties’ vote-center plans.
Coffman backed the initial bill. But he vowed Tuesday to fight the host of changes added on the floor, particularly the proposal to let criminals on parole vote.
“This is a cleanup bill, a technical cleanup bill that was important for the clerks and important for this office to conduct elections,” said his spokesman, Jonathan Tee. “We feel it’s been hijacked by lawmakers trying to add controversial and partisan issues – which are worthy of debate, but not on this bill.”
Sen. Josh Penry, R-Fruita, fought unsuccessfully to kill a provision added by Senate Majority Leader Peter Groff to give felons on parole voting rights.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled last year that parolees did not have the right to vote.
“When you look at moving people from prison to society, the more we can get them to be responsible, the less likely they are to go back in,” Groff said.
