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August 03, 2013 09:51 AM UTC

Today In BS: "Gypsy Voters" To Overrun Recalls?

  • 19 Comments
  • by: Colorado Pols

Stop Whining About Overreaching​A startling headline went up at the national conservative blog Daily Caller earlier this week:

Colorado recall elections risk becoming a ‘free-for-all’ under new Dem-sponsored election law

In yet another twist in the recall elections against gun control-supporting Democrats, it appears that anyone in the state of Colorado can vote on whether Senate President John Morse and Sen. Angela Giron get the boot or stay in office.

The quirk is a result of a new election law passed during the same contentious Democratic-controlled legislative session that produced the gun control bills — and in an additional bit of irony, Giron sponsored it in the state senate…

As reported by the Colorado Observer, the strict wording of the law can be interpreted to mean that anyone who has lived anywhere in Colorado for at least 22 days prior to the Sept. 10 recall elections can register to vote in Morse’s and Giron’s districts, all the way up until the day of the election, whether they live in those districts or not.

All that’s required under the new law is for prospective voters to tell election staff that they intend to move to those districts in the future. Those voters don’t actually have to  – state officials have no way of following up on such promises.

“Without further clarification from the Secretary of State’s rulemaking, I don’t believe any law would be broken,” Douglas County Clerk and Recorder Jack Arrowsmith told the Observer. [Pols emphasis]

So, you may have noticed that this latest scandalized claim from the right, citing a supposed "loophole" in the state's new election laws that allows voters from across the state to vote in these two Senate districts in Colorado Springs and Pueblo, hasn't been repeated by legitimate local or national media.

The reason is simple: it's a load of BS.

Folks, giving false information of any kind for the purposes of registering to vote is always a crime. It was a crime before the passage of this year's Voter Access and Modernized Elections Act, and it is still a crime. If a person misrepresents where they live, who they are or any other pertinent information, that is voter fraud. It is a criminal act. Every form completed by such a voter registering or changing registration contains clear language warning that they are affirming that information under penalty of perjury. And that's just for registration. In Colorado, if you cast a vote under an assumed name, address or any other falsified information, you are committing a felony. Period.

There are numerous Colorado statutes that detail these procedures and penalties. We've talked to a number of knowledgeable sources about it, and none of them can explain what Douglas County Clerk Jack Arrowsmith is thinking asserting that this kind of activity might be legal. Of course it's not. And the clerks certainly can track this. And district attorneys stand ready to prosecute all such violations of Colorado law.

Seeing as how this preposterous notion is only spreading in conservative circles, we would strongly advise somebody on that side of the aisle set the record straight before, well, something embarrassing happens.

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19 thoughts on “Today In BS: “Gypsy Voters” To Overrun Recalls?”

    1. Perhaps . . .

      Or, perhaps he was misquoted (a journalistic paragon, notwithstanding) . . . 

      Or, perhaps we've just been given an indication as to how future elections are going to be handled in my good ole' home sweet home (Douglas County) . . .

      Regardless it's cripes, cripes and freakin' cripes!!!!

  2. Is it too much to ask Democrats to write a law that means what it says? Terrible, vague language has been a huge problem this year. We're all supposed to believe that the laws don't mean what they seem to mean, including this one.

    Why can't you just write laws using clear language?

    1. Aren't you the same guy who read a recent comment on another thread to mean "marijuana = taxes" ??!!??

      I'm pretty sure you and your ilk's inability to comprehend what you read has almost nothing to do with the way that anything is ever written . . . 

      [Hopefully you'll find a fourth-grader nearby to explain this post to you . . . ]

    4. Please cite and quote the section of bill enacted by the Democrats during the 2013 session of the General Assembly that allows people who live outside senators Morse's and Giron's districsst that you believe allows those voters to vote in the September 10, 2013 recall election. If you have proof, lets see it. 

  3. Moderatus,

    Why can't you understand that recall elections are very clearly worded: ballots go out to voters in the recall districts (Senate districts 3 for Giron, 11 for Morse) only. Voters that don't live in those districts can't vote in the recall. Period, full stop. No fuzziness, no unclarity.

    There are no opportunities for gypsy voters or Boulder voters or any other fearful right wing bugaboos.* I posted this on Colorado Peak politics twice, but they don't want to hear from "libtards" like myself, because they are too freaking fearful of the truth, and the truth's well known "liberal bias".

    *Unless, of course, said voters want to commit felony voter fraud. Our shamelessly partisan Sec State Gessler has been pursuing this so called rampant voter fraud for 3 years. He has yet to prosecute a single case of verified voter fraud, probably because there hasn't been any.

  4. As expected, the Colorado Observer failed to get their facts straight.  In fact, they really took the bait on this "Gypsy Voter Loophole".

    Little do they know, while they are busy chasing this bogus story, the real plan Democrats have in store is to bus in Tens of Thousands of illegal aliens to vote!

    Bhuwhahahaha!

    1. It's all part of the by now longstanding tradition of Rs stating facts and figures as, you know, actual facts and figures, then when called on inaccuracy using some version of " What I said was not meant to be, you know, factual. Just illustrating a point". Whatever.

      We most recently saw this in connection with an unsupported statement claiming that there is a serious crime increase connected with medical pot shops but it's been common practice for years now.  I remember one R overstating the percentage of Planned Parenthood funds going to abortion services to be something like 90%, then using the "It wasn't meant to be factual." excuse when challenged. 

      They think we won't notice that what they're really saying is "I just made it up" and actual facty facts won't suit their purposes because reality has way too much liberal bias.  Just ask Karl Rove, the once all powerful rightie alternate reality creating guru. He had quite the nasty, public and pretty humiliating run in with fact based reality, on Fox no less, election night 2012. 

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