( – promoted by Colorado Pols)
Thought you registered to vote?
Think again!
The SoS is suppressing thousands of new voter registrations!
Details “below the fold”
At Issue: Forms used by Voter Registration Drives. They include a place for people to include their Driver’s License Number, State ID Card Number or Social Security Number (only requires last 4 digits). There is a box present which states “I do not have a Colorado Driver’s license or Dept. of Revenue identification number” which people are supposed to mark if they are going to only give an SSN.
The Secretary of State has included in his Rules (dated July 2008) that any new voter who does not mark that box and only gives their SSN shall not be registered to vote. In mid-September he issued a memo to the County Clerks telling them specifically to not register anyone who does this.
Consequence: Thousands of new voters are attempting to register to vote, thinking they are successful because they signed up through some organization such as ACORN or any of the political parties, but are not registered and will not be allowed to vote if they do not correct their forms.
When I say thousands, I am not over-exaggerating. In Denver County alone (the only one I have numbers for so far) this ruling has resulting in approx. 3000 denied voter registrations! And that is just one county, and one with thousands of more forms to even look at!
The SoS’s sorry excuse? They claim to upholding the law, specifically CRS 1-2-204(f.5) which states:
“In the case of an elector who has been issued a current and valid Colorado driver’s license, the elector’s Colorado driver’s license number. If, instead of a driver’s license, the elector has been issued a current and valid identification card by the department of revenue in accordance with part 3 of article 2 of title 42, C.R.S., the elector shall provide the number of the identification card. If the elector has not been issued a current and valid Colorado driver’s license or identification card, the elector shall answer that he or she does not have a driver’s license or identification card and shall provide the last four digits of the elector’s social security number. If the elector does not have a social security number, the elector shall answer that he or she does not have a social security number.”
There are several problems with this logic:
1. There are several voter registration forms out there generally available to the public that do not include the check box, so therefore do not carry the opportunity for the form to be rejected for not marking it.
2. The Voter registration form that does have the check box (and was conveniently designed by the SoS’s Office) does not clearly state that you are REQUIRED to mark the box for the registration to be processed. The wording of the very small printed and lengthy paragraph makes it sound like if you leave the ID area totally blank you are in for problems, but not if you provide the SSN. This form is the only form Voter Registration Drives are allowed to use.
3. In Colorado, ANYONE who votes must show ID to do so. So before a ballot is cast, an ID will be presented. People who vote by mail and have not already provided an ID are required to return a copy of their ID with their ballot. This rule is therefore accomplishing nothing useful.
What is really going on? From all the information available to me, I can only come to one conclusion: The Secretary of State is purposely suppressing voter participation in Colorado. Why? Well let’s see:
Who are conducting the very large voter registration drives? The Democratic Party, the Obama Campaign, ACORN and other Dem-friendly organizations.
Who are being affected the most by this rule? Young people (typically 18-22 year-olds) who are overwhelming polling for Obama.
Final thought: in Colorado in 2000, there was a 45,521 vote difference between Gore and Bush. 2008 is expected to be a lot closer, maybe even THE deciding state. Just think of the impact of denying votes to 10,000 or more young, predominantly Obama-supporting, voters in a major battleground state.
In 2000 it was Florida; in 2004 it was Ohio; is 2008 our turn to hang our heads in shame over our conduct of a presidential election?
No wonder he wouldn’t resign his seat. He’s been to busy trying to disenfranchise voters for the Presidential election.
It sounds like you have good grounds for a court to overturn it.
…but I think the only people with standing would be those who have been disenfranchised. I am hoping the campaigns can come up with one or two who are willing to be party to a suit.
…with a ticket to Denver recently.
This is disgusting. Typical REpublican disenfranchisement crap. Like that election official, can’t remember where, that threatened college students with loss of student loans if they registered in that town.
It seems to me that we need a clean up of the forms to remove extraneous check boxes. Filling in the right information should be enough.
One checkbox does not a voter make.
and take on this issue. Attempting to suppress newly registered voters based on a technicality is shameful.
Sen. Gordon, Rep. Romanoff – do you have time to take on this issue?
I’m looking around to see that he is infact going to disqualify those registrations.
Thanks
Matt
are here.
The rule in question, 2.6.3, is on page 4 of the document.
Go to the SOS web site:
http://www.sos.state.co.us
Click on “Elections Home” at the top of the list under “Elections.”
Click on “Read More” under “Election Laws, Rules, and Advisory Opinions” on the right side of the page.
Click on “SOS Election Rules – as Amended 7-11-08 – NEW”
That will get you to the rules in PDF format.
Cry me a freaking river, fill out the forms right.
It is not that tough to do….
The purpose of voter registration laws is to register those eligible to vote and thereby prevent voter fraud. Whether someone checks off the box that states they do not have a Colorado drivers license or Colorado state ID card is meaningless and certainly doesn’t prevent fraud or indicate whether a particular prospective voter is legitimate or not. The law clearly provides that a social security number is a valid way to identify someone for the purpose of voter registration.
Assuming an indidvidual, who does not possess a Colorado drivers license or Colorado ID card, utilizes their social security number to register but fails to check off the box, why should they be disqualified from registering to vote when their social security number matches their other identifying information. For other prospective voters, all the secretary of state or county clerks will do is check to see if the drivers license number or state ID number matches the other identifying information. Checking or failing to check the box does not indicate or provide any information about the prospective voter and certainly doesn’t provide any information about whether the voter is legitimate or fraudulent.
There is a presumption in the law that people should be allowed to vote. Secretary of State Coffman’s rule and interpretation of that rule undermines that principle. A court should enjoin the enforcement of this rule immediately.
From the way I would have read the instructions on the form, a person only needs to provide a DLN or a SNN. The reference to the check boxes makes it sound like leaving the entire ID area blank is what would result in your form not being registered.
So it is easy to see where people are thinking they are filling it out correctly but now are not getting registered.
because, in all honesty, I’m inclined to agree w/ Haywood.
If you fill in your SSN and don’t check the box saying you don’t have a CO ID, you don’t end up registered to vote according to Coffman’s instructions. Right?
If that’s the case, what’s so hard about checking the box if you indeed aren’t using an ID number when registering to vote? The instructions aren’t that confusing if you read them completely.
It’s not the most perfectly worded document I’ve ever read, but it’s kinda like a tax form. Read it, fill in the info you’re asked for, and ask someone if you’re confused. If you’re too lazy to read the instructions, who’s fault is that?
What was the purpose of adding the check box on the newly designed registration forms?
It seems fairly obvious that it wasn’t added to guard against voter fraud since there are still forms out there without the box.
It was added to sour new registrations.
As to “just follow directions” that actually is not defendible.
Being stupid or illiterate or lazy or having poor eye sight is not a bar to voting. Everyone who has a right to vote should be allowed to vote. Registration is just to prevent fraud, it is not supposed to be a poll test or a paperwork obstacle course.
It saddens me that many people who want very badly to vote could be denied their right because of one missed check mark.
CA, OR, and WA off the top of my head.
I think the point of the new form is indeed to protect against voter fraud. Of course the old forms are still being allowed because they are still floating around out there. If they didn’t allow the old forms, you’d be crying “disenfranchisement” about that.
The new form isn’t asking for anything special. It’s not complicated if you read the instructions and follow them. No matter where you are, you have to follow the instructions in order to register to vote or else you can’t go to the polls.
The stupid, illiterate, lazy, and blind can’t just wander into a precinct and vote on election day. There are limits on voting. Filling out a form correctly is one of them.
In essence that is what a court challenge would turn on.
I see no credible mechanism that checking a box helps in the detection of voter fraud. If yyou can offer one, I am open to changing my position.
I don’t think the box does anything to prevent voter fraud. That’s not my argument. It may be Coffman’s…but regardless, that’s not my point.
The form clearly lays out what is required to register to vote. I find it to be a reasonable requirement. If the form asked you to do the hokey pokey or sing a show tune, then I’d have a problem because that’s just dumb. Asking someone to confirm information is not.
Presumably, checking the box allows the state to avoid issuing DoR Id numbers to people who already have them. I would assume they check against that anyway, but I don’t know for sure.
My point is that the form and rules are clear. Fill out the form correctly and you won’t have any problems. I’m not saying it’s a perfect form or even a good rule, but it is the rule…and not an unreasonable one, IMO. Follow it or you won’t end up registered to vote.
lies directly with the folks who did the VRD training. I don’t remember how much it is emphasized in the literature, but I’m sure it’s in there if it’s in Colorado statutes.
This whole requirement is an add on by the Secretary of State. Rule 2.6.3 cites CRS 1-2-509 as the statutory basis for the rule but that statute simply says the clerk and recorders shall check to see if a voter registration form is complete and accurate. There is absolutely no statutory requirement that a prospective voter check mark a box that indicates they don’t have a Colorado drivers license or Colorado state ID. Coffman inserted a rule that has no support in the statute. It is there to discourage and stop otherwise qualified and honest people from voting. In relation to stopping fraud the rule is irrelevant.
1. There aren’t old forms just floating around. The Forms provided by the SOS and counties TODAY do not have that check box. That box is only on VRD Forms.
2. Look at the form.. There is an OR between Dr lic,DOR ID Number, and Soc. Number — In other words any of those will work. The check box is just hanging around between the “or”s. It really looks like it is just there to cause a problem.
3. The state has actually run out of the VRD forms and has given permission for the use of the “regular” form by VRDs so it couldn’t be that important since that check box isn’t on the “regular” form
Show me where Constitutional voting protections don’t apply to these folks:
without registering in advance. That’s my point.
If you want to get rid of all “bars to voting,” as Danny put it, establish day of election registration.
One of my cardinal rules was to impact the game as little as possible. So if I wasn’t sure if the ball was out, keep it in play. If there was some pushing that arguably was a foul but the teams were playing clean, don’t call it. The trick was to enable the game to be played.
The goal on registrations is to get every eligible voter registered. So not allowing it on technicalities is wrong. It may be legal, but it is still wrong.
Disallowing registration based on technicalities that were never called by statute, but that you yourself introduced solely for the purpose of suppressing the vote, is just plain wrong.
I used to kinda like Mike Coffman. Used to.
who were affected by this ruling by Secretary Coffman, get them in touch with some good lawyers, and get this resolved BEFORE Election Day.
Just discovered he and some friends have been removed from the rolls. He is furious and concerned about just how many young people this will affect. YIKES this is creepy.
Post their contact info here for disenfranchised voters to get ahold of you?
PLEASE!
I was just as alarmed as many readers about this post, thanks for bringing it to everyone’s attention Dan! But, on reading the SoS’s rule (specifically Rule 2.6.3), 2 things caught my eye:
1. Under the rule, if the voter application is deemed to be incomplete because the box isn’t checked, the clerk is instructed to hold it and notify the voter that the application is incomplete and say why it is incomplete; and
2. the voter has up until election day to fix the check box, or supply a driver’s license number.
Nonetheless, it is clear the SoS is playing politics, as his rules say that failing to put a driver’s license number down or check a box about having a DL is fatal to the application, but failing to check the box about whether you are a US citizen is not fatal (see Rule 2.7).
Solution: for all you readers with contacts in the broadcast media (or all you readers WHO ARE the broadcast media), remind people incessantly that Monday is the registration deadline and every voter can confirm their registration through the SoS website! Tell the people!
Dan Willis is undermining the actual process by withholding the details of the process involved. Every person is that does not properly complete the form is contacted by the county clerk and recorder.
Furthermore, there are roughly 3M active voters in the state and only 5K people who have been impacted by this process. That equals 0.16%. Gosh, this is so widespread that it is appalling.
Hello idiot, Coffman has nothing to do with inputting those forms and counties wouldn’t tell him if they were not following his directive anyway.
Stop scaring the voters and start doing some good!
Oh shit, it’s the day after the election, did we get those letters out ?
I took the online training for a Voter Registration Drive, directly from the SoS office. They very definitely told us that ANY of the three numbers (drivers license, state ID or SSN) were equally acceptable.
The SoS webpage even gives out this same info!
If you go HERE:
http://www.elections.colorado….
and click on the link “First Time Voter ID Requirements” under the Go Vote headline, you get a link to a printable document
http://www.elections.colorado….
At the bottom of page 1 it says this (bolding mine):
“Or you may provide one of the following numbers (without providing a physical copy of the number):
Valid Colorado Driver’s License number
Valid Colorado Department of Revenue Identification number
At least the four last digits of the voter’s Social Security number
Authority: C.R.S. 1-2-501(2)(B); C.R.S. 1-1-104(19.5)”
So they deliberately trained people one way and are now canceling registrations on the basis of people having followed that training???
Any of the numbers are fine as long as you check the box that the form tells you to check if you don’t have an ID.
I don’t mean to sound like a jerk…I’m just sick of folks not following simple instructions then claiming they’ve been screwed by the system. The system isn’t perfect, but it is what it is. Follow the rules and you get registered to vote. Don’t follow the rules and you get what you get…
People who wanted to help with a SANCTIONED voter reg drive had to take training from the Sec of State office. They VERY explicitly told everyone NOT to check the box if you were signing someone up who DID have a license or ID but did not have it with them. They plainly said, more than once, that ANY of the three numbers were equally acceptable and the form would be processed the same in all cases.
Taking only the last 4 digits of the SSN was explained as a way to reassure people their personal data wasn’t being stolen!
So when we dutifully follow our training, and the training is wrong either by deliberate deceit or incompetence at high levels in the SoS office, WE are the ones in the wrong?
I don’t think so.
At a voter registration drive it would be quite reasonable to expect some people will NOT have their driver’s license on them (and how many of you have your driver’s lic id memorized?).
If you are registering to vote, and the person tells you that it is sufficient to just provide your SSN, you have failed to properly register, even if everyone did their job to the best of their knowledge.
So, best thing now is to get the word out that everyone should check on the viability of their voter registration.
Go here now: http://www.sos.state.co.us/Vot…
Or, if that doesn’t work, go here:
http://www.elections.colorado….
and then click on the top item under “Voter Registration”, namely “Verify Your Voter Information.”
Spread the word.
And I made sure to tell them to check the box, or provide their CDL number–and to tell anyone they know who may have not done so to get on it before Monday.
Both live in Boulder, both students, never notified by anyone. Being students, they have of course moved. Both voted in the primary and were purged – post primary.
If they were registered for the primary they are still in the system somewhere. The higher likelihood is they were sent a piece of mail that bounced back to the County Clerk’s office and they were labelled “inactive” which will not prevent them from voting. By voting they will once again be listed as “active”.
If they choose to vote by mail, the act of requesting a mail ballot will put them back into “active” status as well.
Even people who die, etc are still in the voter database, they are merely in a “cancelled” status.
I would recommend the two calling the county clerk’s office and figuring out exactly waht the situation is and if they need to do anything to correct it. Remember, if they have moved, Monday is the deadline for address changes.
I just put in a call to the Denver ACLU urging them to file a restraining order on this.
I am asking anyone interested in their vote counting to call the ACLU at 303-777-5482.
We know the republicans will steal the election if we let them. Voting is NOT enough this year.
Show your true colors, Colorado!
I have just learned this mornign that heavily Republican Counties are ignoring the rule from the SoS’s office. I have confirmed that Douglas and El Paso are STILL registering people even if they commit the same error that voters are not being registered for in Denver and Boulder.
A court order is absolutely necessary!!!!