May 02, 2013 02:50 PM UTC

Election Modernization Bill Passes Senate

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• by: Colorado Pols

FOX 31's Eli Stokols reports:

The 20-15 vote, with all Democrats in favor of and all Republicans against the measure, came after a four-hour debate with almost every Republican senator arguing that bill will open up the state’s elections to rampant fraud.

“You’re already winning the elections,” Senate Minority Leader Bill Cadman, R-Colorado Springs, said. “Do you need to steal them too?” [Pols emphasis]

The Colorado Association of County Clerks, which is made up more Republicans than Democrats, helped draft the bill and supports it. But Republicans at the Capitol and Secretary of State Scott Gessler have called House Bill 1303 a “partisan power play” aimed at helping Democrats consolidate recent electoral gains that will open the voting process up to rampant fraud.

The long debate over passage of House Bill 1303 has been characterized by dire warnings that the bill, in particular the provision for same-day registration of voters, would lead to "rampant voter fraud"–despite the fact that county clerks of both parties, the officials actually responsible for carrying out elections in Colorado, support it. Eleven states and the District of Columbia already have same day registration on the books, and there is no evidence that it has led to a higher incidence of trouble anywhere it has been enacted. What has happened, though, is a roughly 10% increase in overall voter turnout in states that have same day registration.

With these arguments hashed, rehashed, and re-rehashed, the final Senate debate today veered into the silly: 

“There are people out there that, if they have the opportunity — you can’t tell me a group of anarchists, looking at a way to overthrow our government — why would we give them an opportunity to do that?” [GOP Sen. Steve] King asked.

As with the gun safety debate, or any number of other debates this legislative session, we get the sense that with House Bill 1303, Republicans stopped trying to persuade their Democratic fellow legislators relatively early on–and switched to nonsensical talking points intended only to resonate with their low-information base. We can't think of any other reason why (presumed) intelligent lawmakers would bother saying something as ridiculous as what you read above. No Republican opponent ever offered a reasonable explanation for even the most basic discrepancies in their arguments, like why county clerks from both parties support the bill, or why the "fraud" they are certain will be the result hasn't happened in other states.

If they ever had a valid argument, they're out of time to make it.