FW: PRESS ADVISORY: Boulder County Republicans Urge County Clerk to Retain Secret Ballot

["Al Kolwicz" <alkolwicz@xxxxxxxxx>]

This is great news.

The Boulder County Republican Party has taken the lead to protect Boulder
County voter's right to vote by secret ballot.  They have asked the clerk to
choose the secret ballot option.

Check out the press release below.

Huge thanks to Rob McGuire, Chairman of the Boulder County Republicans.
mcguire@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 

We hope that the Democratic Party will soon join the Republican Party's cry
for secret ballots.

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.




-----Original Message-----
From: Robert McGuire [mailto:mcguire@xxxxxxxxxx] 
Sent: Wednesday, June 21, 2006 1:48 PM
To: mcguire@xxxxxxxxxx
Subject: PRESS ADVISORY: Boulder County Republicans Urge County Clerk to
Retain Secret Ballot

PRESS ADVISORY: Boulder County Republicans Urge County Clerk to Retain
Secret Ballot


Today Robert McGuire, chairman of Boulder County Republicans, sent a letter
to County Clerk and Recorder Linda Salas urging Salas to act urgently to
preserve the secret ballot in Boulder County.

Boulder County Republicans recently learned that the Clerk's office has
negotiated a contract with a private vendor to print the County's ballots
and that one of the contract options under consideration by the Clerk
involves printing non-removable, unique codes directly onto ballots.  Unique
codes printed on ballots could permit individual voters to be identified,
along with their votes, and could thereby risk eliminating voter anonymity.

"As you know, voting by secret ballot has long been a cornerstone of
American democracy," McGuire stated in his letter, adding, "this practice
should not be lightly abandoned."  McGuire further observed, "the Colorado
Constitution specifically provides that 'no ballots shall be marked in any
way whereby the ballot can be identified as the ballot of the person casting
it.'"

McGuire urged the Clerk instead to select a second contract option that
would require printing any unique ballot code on a removable, perforated
strip.

"At a time when the integrity of elections is such a major focus of public
attention here and around the country, tossing aside the secret ballot would
be a major step in the wrong direction for Boulder County," McGuire
explained.  "Boulder County Republicans will stand up to preserve this
fundamental safeguard over the integrity of Colorado's electoral process."

McGuire is an attorney in Superior who also serves as adjunct faculty with
the University of Denver's Sturm College of Law, where he teaches federal
election law.  McGuire was elected to serve as Boulder County Chairman on
June 8, 2006.


CONTACT: Robert McGuire, Chairman Boulder County Republicans, cell:
720-299-8291.