Please take time to scan the following two items.
We are facing major disruption in the Secretary of State’s
office.
It is time for new leadership.
Al
Al Kolwicz
CAMBER – Citizens for Accurate Mail Ballot Election
Results
2867 Tincup
Circle
Boulder, CO 80305
303-494-1540
AlKolwicz@xxxxxxxxx
www.users.qwest.net/~alkolwicz
www.coloradovoter.blogspot.com
CAMBER is a dedicated group of
volunteers who are working to ensure that every voter gets to vote once, every
vote is counted once, and that every ballot is secure and anonymous.
From: Dr. Charles E.
Corry [mailto:ccorry@xxxxxxxx]
Sent: Friday, March 03, 2006 10:24
AM
To: EJF comments
Subject: EJF voting news - Email
voting is coming to Colorado
and state election direction who fostered it is going 3/3/04
Just one day after testifying to the Colorado House
State, Veterans, and
Military Affairs committee about how carefully email voting would be managed
under SB06-062,
state elections director Billy Compton resigned as noted in the story below.
Proponents of voting integrity lost that vote after Billy testified twice, and
the committee approved email voting 6-5 along party lines.
Despite acknowledging that there are grave problems
with security using email voting, Mr. Compton testified his office would be
able to safely use email voting. He also testified how one sailor on one ship
had not been able to fax his ballot so he had brought forward the plan for
email voting. However, it was clear that Mr. Compton had not sought input from
military sources as to the need for or how email voting might be implemented or
from technical or security experts. The committee also broadened the bill so
that email voting can essentially be used by anyone overseas.
Presumably they meant to limit it to citizens but Senator McElhany's
bill to require proof of citizenship to register to vote was defeated so China, Mexico,
and wherever, feel free, Colorado
welcomes your votes.
For six years now, that I'm aware of, every time
there has been a bad idea for voting, or the Colorado Sec. of State has been
approached for information, or to enforce election law or constitutional
protections such as a secret ballot, Billy Compton has been the culprit.
Compton and Drew Durham backed Accenture for the
non-existent voter registration database that he couldn't get going after four
years and, as the article notes, hasn't even gone out on bid yet for a new
contractor.
Boulder
County bought the Hart Intercivic
voting system that Compton's
office has now certified for disabled voters. The Hart system couldn't handle
ballots fast enough for a polling place election and eliminated a secret ballot.
So now Boulder is looking for a whole new voting
system but Compton's
office simply turned a blind eye to the problems.
So Billy Compton definitely won't be missed
but the disasters of his heritage will live on.
Charles E. Corry, Ph.D., F.G.S.A.
County voting officials boxed in
Voids in 2 state posts
add to anxiety over August primaries
By
George Merritt, Denver
Post Staff Writer
DenverPost.com
March 2, 2006 - Two key election officials in the
secretary of state's office have either stepped down or will soon, adding to
anxiety among county election officials as they scramble to prepare for the
August primaries.
Elections director William "Billy" Compton announced Wednesday that
he plans to leave March 17.
And the county clerk and recorders learned Friday that Patricia Frederick, the
director in charge of compliance with the federal Help America Vote Act,
stepped down in the middle of the already tardy process for certifying voting
machines.
Those county officials were concerned about a timeline for purchasing election
equipment that left little - if any - margin for error.
The secretary of state's office said
Wednesday it will try to make the transition seamless, despite Frederick's departure.
"Obviously, when we lose a director, it will cause some changes in the
organization," spokeswoman Dana Williams said. "But we are still
continuing to move forward with certification."
Meanwhile, clerks representing counties along the Front Range gathered
Wednesday in Denver
for a "critical" strategy meeting that included more discussion of
switching to an all-mail-ballot election this year.
That idea was hatched last month as a way of getting around the certification difficulty,
but it may be unlikely.
An exemption would require a bill in the state legislature, and so far
lawmakers have been reluctant to bring one up. Voters rejected a ballot issue
in 2002 that would have phased-in mail-ballot elections.
The trouble for election officials is caused by disharmony between state and
federal regulations. The federal Help America Vote Act requires every polling
place to have a voting machine that is accessible for people with disabilities.
A state law passed last year prohibits counties from buying new machines unless
they generate a paper voter record.
Vendors had to craft machines that met the specifications. The process of
certifying machines is ongoing. Only one vendor, Hart Intercivic, has been
certified.
Voting officials worry that time is running out to certify, order, deliver and
test new machines, and train staff on them.
The delay has left counties in a lurch. For instance, Denver set a March 1 deadline for deciding if
it would revamp the way residents vote by switching to vote centers.
On Tuesday, the Denver Election Commission voted to go with vote centers but
had to include a caveat for a paper-ballot election in case machines aren't
ready.
Clerks decided Wednesday to continue working with Secretary of State Gigi
Dennis toward polling-place elections, but held out hope for switching to mail
ballots.
"We did determine that we should not sit idly by and wait to see if
vendors can make the cut," Larimer County Clerk and Recorder Scott Doyle
said after the clerks' meeting. "So that if something goes terribly wrong,
we are in a position to respond to that as best we can."
Dennis is trying to make up time where she can. Last week she worked a deal
with Hart to make sure machines were available for counties that want them.
"We know that the clerks are under a lot of pressure," said Williams,
Dennis' spokeswoman. "We are really trying to work as a team with the
clerks to make sure they get what they need."
Compton said he
is leaving to pursue other opportunities. His absence, he said, will not affect
elections.
"The secretary has an incredibly talented staff remaining as we move
toward the election," Compton
said. "I have all the confidence in the world in the work they do."
Frederick could
not be reached for comment.
Staff writer George Merritt can be reached at 303-820-1657 or
gmerritt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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