In the News:

Fair Vote Colorado – Goes to the polls on Primary Day August 10!

(pdf version)

Over 50 Fair Vote Colorado volunteers monitored over 40 polling places around metro Denver and throughout the state. Each volunteer participated in a 1-2 hour training where they learned new election law rules that would affect voters and prepared to collect information as to how these new laws impacted Colorado Voters. Many volunteers were surprised to learn of the new voter identification requirements and soon realized the importance of being a resource to Colorado Voters. From Adams and Arapahoe out to Garfield County , volunteers interviewed voters as they exited the polls to see how they felt about their voting experience.

Complaints logged thus far 

Fair Vote Colorado volunteers have been instrumental in helping log numerous complaints by voters that have dealt with the interaction between federal laws and recently passed state statutes. For example, a voter in Denver was told that her name had apparently been “deleted” from the rolls by the Secretary of State. Instead of being offered a provisional ballot, as federal law states, the voter received no help from the election officials and ultimately left the polling place without casting a ballot. In another case, a woman in Silt, Colorado who did not have proper identification was discouraged from casting a provisional ballot. She was told by an election official that if she did cast a provisional ballot it would probably not be counted. Finally, a disabled gentleman in Adams County whose driver's license had expired was not offered a provisional ballot and as a result was not able to participate in the civic process. These are just three examples that have been discovered thus far. Without the dedication of time and energy by the volunteers of Fair Vote Colorado , these problems and countless others would not have been brought to light.

Close Races in Colorado

The primary elections held in Colorado on August 10, 2004 refute the common misperception that an individual vote doesn't matter. A week after the election, two separate races are too close to call and remain undecided. Whether provisional ballots are counted fairly will likely determine the outcome of both races. The deadline for county clerks to account for the provisional ballots is August 23 rd . In the Democratic primary for District 52 state representative, John Kefalas leads Bill Bertschy by 2 votes, with 202 provisional ballots that must still be verified in Larimer County. In the Republican primary for District 2 Douglas County Commission seat, Steve Boand leads Jeff Wasden by 57 votes. In Douglas County there remain 43 absentee and 202 provisional ballots to be verified. The situations in both Larimer and Douglas County illustrate the tremendous importance of provisional ballots, which will determine the outcome of both races. It is imperative that provisional ballots are qualified and counted by Colorado counties in such a way as to ensure all eligible voters are able to have their vote counted. 

PROVISIONAL BALLOTS IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT

In the 2000 election, as many as 3.5 million eligible voters nationwide were unable to vote and have their votes counted. As a response to this problem, Congress' Help America Vote Act (HAVA) required states to use provisional ballots. These ballots are given to voters whose eligibility to vote is in question for any reason. Later, if the voter's eligibility is verified, the provisional ballot is counted. However, these ballots—designed to keep people from being disenfranchised—can present more problems than they solve.

Some state laws on provisional ballots are being legally challenged for a number of reasons. In Missouri, a federal judge has blocked election officials from certifying the results of their recent primary. This is a result of a suit claiming that the state laws violated HAVA's provisional voting mandate by not allowing votes to count that have been cast in the wrong precinct. Likewise, in Nevada, the ACLU is considering possible litigation based on recent state law that requires votes cast in the wrong precincts not to be counted.

The ACLU in Nevada is also looking into the intersection of new identification requirements and provisional ballots. South Dakota's U.S. attorney is investigating similar problems in that state's primary. There, a new state law requiring identification from all polling place voters may have come in conflict with HAVA when poll workers failed to offer provisional ballots to voters without identification. In Illinois' recent primary, there were 5,914 provisional ballots cast in Chicago. However, 5,498 were rejected and not counted—an alarming 93%.

In a recent AP article, Maria Valdez from the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund, was quoted as saying, “That is the problem with provisional balloting under the Help America Vote Act. It really could look like it's trying to open access, but because it is based on a state-by-state determination, it really could restrict access.”

There is every possibility that the margin of victory in the 2004 presidential race will be extremely narrow, along with several equally close U.S. congressional and senate races—including one here in Colorado. In this context, state laws implementing HAVA's provisional ballot requirements have the potential to be the battleground for the next post election war.

New Emergency Rules Proposed 

The Colorado Secretary of State's office has issued “Emergency Election Rules,” which it hopes to finalize in a public hearing on September 30.  The emergency rules create new reasons for rejecting a provisional ballot.  If a provisional ballot is rejected this means that even though a voter was allowed to vote provisionally, that vote will not be counted.  One new reason cited for rejection is if a first time voter registered to vote by mail, and failed to provide ID with their registration, they will be “tagged” for ID when they try to vote.   If a “tagged” voter fails to present ID at the polling place this is reason to reject the voter's provisional ballot.  Another reason for rejecting a provisional ballot is if a voter voted in the wrong precinct.  The rules provide that only the vote for U. S. President would be counted if the voter cast a provisional ballot in the wrong precinct.  Fair Vote Colorado thinks these new rules will lead to further disenfranchisement of voters, and intends to address these and other issues at the public hearing.

What's next for Fair vote:

While we are still compiling our collected data, the general feeling was that most voters did not know about the new ID laws and numerous registration and provisional balloting problems did arise. FVC staff are working to request reports from counties to discover how many provisional ballots were cast, counted and why if any were rejected. We are also reviewing the new rules proposed by the Secretary of State. Fair Vote Colorado applauds the efforts of other organizations in Colorado who are also working to ensure that voters are provided their right to vote – We hope to build upon current collaboration to reach as many polling places as possible in November

We are grateful to our volunteers who proved to be a tremendous resource and encourage everyone to be informed about this years election process. In an election year where a record turnout is expected – We must ensure that all of eligible Coloradan's votes are cast and COUNTED!!

You can get involved and help us monitor by contacting us at the office or on the web – www.fairvotecolorado.org

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