A
Denver Post article today (linked below) explains some of
the controversy surrounding a bill to decrease the transparency of
our elections. Our county (and some city) clerks are on the wrong
side of this issue. Coloradans for Voting Integrity, of which I am a
member, is part of the "growing coalition" mentioned in the article.
In the attached letter, we are asking for the Governor to veto
HB12-1036 (the new number for SB12-155--full details in the
Denver
Post story).
- It is wrong to black out the transparency of elections for
most of the year by preventing citizens and the press from
inspecting anonymous voted ballots as open records under the
Colorado Open Records Act (CORA).
- CORA is a vital law that protects citizens from having their
government operate in a nontransparent way. Undercutting CORA is
a very serious measure and is not necessary for maintaining
election transparency or ballot integrity or voter privacy.
- Very little testimony was taken on this bill because of the
chaos at the end of the session. (The bill posted on the
legislature's website as of this evening is still the May 3
version. Nothing in it says anything about elections and CORA,
but you can still see the old text of SB12-155, which is dead,
but was added to HB12-1036 at the last possible minute.)
- If something is odd about an election, that means that the
normal oversight of election judges, election watchers, and
canvass board members may have been insufficient and further
timely oversight by more citizens is needed.
If you don't want to write a technical reason for why you are asking
for a veto, you could give a more general explanation. It could go
something like the following:
I am a resident of ______ County, and I value the
secrecy of my ballot. The clerk must not trace that ballot back to
me according to Colorado's laws. Therefore, after the ballots are
counted, it is all right with me if they are looked at by those
who wish to cross check ballots with the clerk's results.
If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me
(
m.eberle@xxxxxxxxxxxx,
303 442-2164).
Below is the Governor's website. Please help the cause of election
transparency by writing a note asking that the Governor veto
HB12-1036.
http://www.colorado.gov/govhdir/requests/opinion-leg.html
Under Jurisdiction--Please Select, enter “Legislation.” Then enter
“Other” as the bill number, unless HB12-1036 is now showing in the
list. Then enter “HB12-1036” in the Subject line. It is better if
you do not check the “consider this message to be confidential” box
at the end.
Please share with your friends, family, and colleagues. If you
prefer not to receive messages such as this one, please let me know.
Thank you,
Mary
Mary C. Eberle
1520 Cress Court
Boulder, CO 80304
303 442-2164
Colorado groups urge veto of limits on voted-ballot inspections
Posted: 05/16/2012 01:00:00 AM MDTBy Sara Burnett
The Denver Post (
denverpost.com)
A growing coalition is asking Gov. John Hickenlooper to veto a
bill that creates rules for public inspection of voted ballots,
saying it is "an unprecedented step" to block the public's right
to ensure fair elections that was "ramrodded" through the
legislature in its final days.
Among those who have contacted Hickenlooper or plan to do so are
members of the Colorado Lawyers Committee Election Task Force, the
chairman of the Ute Mountain Ute tribe, Colorado Common Cause,
Colorado Ethics Watch and two election-integrity groups.
"The reality of this legislation is that at the most critical
time, when the public has an interest in clerks' management of
elections, it creates an unprecedented exemption from (the
Colorado Open Records Act)," said John Zakhem, a prominent
elections attorney.
Donetta Davidson, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks
Association, said she was "flabbergasted" by the opposition.
Without the bill, she said, results of this fall's election — when
Colorado is a presidential swing state — could be delayed by court
battles....
Zakhem also called the more than 45-day stay on CORA requests
outrageous, noting that the governor and lawmakers are allowed
only a 10-day stay when the legislature is in session....
Sara Burnett:
303-954-1661 or
sburnett@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.denverpost.com/legislature/ci_20631603/colorado-groups-urge-veto-limits-voted-ballot-inspections?IADID=Search-www.denverpost.com-www.denverpost.com#ixzz1v2QfARIb