During World War II, when Americans needed to conserve oil and rubber for military needs, billboards implored would-be drivers to ask themselves: “Is this trip necessary?”
In the wake of Wednesday’s legislative decision to kill the once-bipartisan idea to conduct the 2008 election primarily by paper ballots, Colorado voters may have been asking that same question about this long, strange trip we’ve been on since Secretary of State Mike Coffman’s decertification last year of many voting machines.
His move prompted lawmakers to propose voting entirely by paper ballots in the August primary and November general elections. We supported the measure, largely because we thought it would instill a measure of confidence in voters.
But the paper-only plan met with intense opposition from county clerks, 62 of whom had managed to conduct reasonably efficient and accurate elections in 2006. The two large counties that misfired in ’06, Denver and Douglas, have been working hard to solve the data-processing problems that led to long lines and discouraged voters.
Meanwhile, Coffman and his staff retested and recertified the problem machines and announced that all 64 counties were cleared to proceed with their existing equipment.
Finally, legislators balked at the $11 million necessary to help counties meet the cost of a paper election they didn’t even want to conduct.
With so many major players sending so many different messages, voter confidence in the process would have remained questionable at best.
It’s now vital that state and county officials work together to ensure citizens that their votes will be fairly and accurately tallied.
That includes promoting absentee ballots and early voting, ensuring fair access to disabled voters, and otherwise working to restore public confidence in our election procedures.
