SB 153 got out of State Affairs today.
Colorado has experience with voting centers.
In my opinion, the following are some of
the risks associated with voting centers:
- There
are huge outstanding problems with election quality that must be solved before
considering voting centers. Voting centers are a distraction,
- A
partisan election official could move voting centers around every year to
disrupt voters in certain precincts, thereby causing reduced turnout and
voter dissatisfaction. Fixed neighborhood polling locations makes it
easier for voters.
- Many
people like to walk, bus, or bike to their neighborhood polling
place. Fewer voters will be able to walk to their polling place.
- Voting
centers create a market for voting systems that do not use preprinted
ballots. Because voting centers require more ballot styles, they
create a need for “ballot on demand” and DRE voting systems
– neither of which are trustworthy.
- Voting
centers could make precinct voting statistics go away. These
statistics are needed by candidates and political parties to understand
the electorate. Parties, for example, use precinct stats to assign
delegates.
- Judges
in neighborhood polling places often recognize people who live in the
neighborhood. The risk of being caught voting for somebody else goes
down when precincts are combined.
This is a bill designed for the
convenience of the clerks not for the quality of elections or the convenience
of voters.
I would vote against SB 153 until all
questions about security, reliability and verifiability have been answered
satisfactorily.
Al Kolwicz