Colorado Secretary of State Mike Coffman on Monday announced an “election watch list” for counties that experienced severe election mishaps and said four counties, including Denver, had been placed on the list.
Coffman said Denver, as well as Montrose, Pueblo and Douglas counties, will receive extra support from his office to move them off the watch list and head off a potential court-ordered takeover of their election operations.
Coffman said all four counties experienced “significant problems in conducting” their elections but had made improvements. He said elections in those areas already were being overseen by new leadership since last fall’s voting.
He said the goal of the watch-list program – the first such program in Colorado – was to avoid what he termed the “nuclear option” of a court-mandated takeover of a county’s election apparatus.
“This is really designed to help, and it’s not designed to be punitive,” he said. “It gives us the assurances that it’s going to be taken care of.”
He said he will hire retired elected officials to monitor the progress of the counties. Former Adams County Clerk Carol Snyder likely will be dispatched to help shape up the operations in Montrose County, Coffman said.
He added that he also plans to unveil new standards for electronic voting systems, a move that could result in the decertification of some systems currently in use.
Local officials said that although they didn’t relish going on the watch list, they believed state officials would be helpful.
“I don’t believe it’s an unreasonable action,” said Denver’s newly appointed Clerk and Recorder Stephanie O’Malley, who took office in the wake of a 2006 election that saw thousands of voters disenfranchised because of long waits. “It’s not news to Denver that we need to fix these things.”
Local officials in Douglas County were taking steps to tackle the problems within 24 hours of the polls closing last fall. Voters there stood in line for as long as six hours on Election Day.
Jack Arrowsmith, who was elected Douglas County’s clerk and recorder, convened a 13-member task force last fall to study the problem over a series of investigatory meetings.
“Our goal is to restore voter confidence in our election process,” Arrowsmith said in a written statement Monday.
Pueblo County Clerk and Recorder Gilbert Ortiz, also newly elected, said he welcomed any new resources the state may be able to bring forth.
Montrose County spokeswoman Ana Mostaccero said County Clerk Francine Tipton-Long is “delighted” to have help from the secretary of state’s office.
She said Tipton-Long, who took office in January after the election that was riddled with problems, has instituted a number of changes. Coffman will be in Montrose on Thursday to discuss other changes that will help the county get off the watch list.
Coffman said his office still was assessing whether to place Routt County on the watch list. The county lacked some equipment in the last election, officials say.
Staff writer Christopher N. Osher can be reached at 303-954-1747 or cosher@denverpost.com.
