FAIR VOTE COLORADO  

The goal of Fair Vote Colorado is to work in partnership with other non-partisan organizations to monitor the 2004 primary and general election, identify the impact that current laws have on Coloradans' right to vote, and present the findings in a post-election report so that the process can be verified or challenged.

Background: cheap hotel breaks KastrupIn the presidential election of 2000 as many as 3.5 million eligible voters were denied their right to vote at polling places across the country. In response to this and the many other problems encountered by voters in that election, Congress passed the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). In Colorado , in the 2003 legislative session alone, bills requiring signature verification for mail ballots, identification for polling place voters, and identification for provisional ballot voters were all passed by the legislature and signed into lawin addition to the security measures of HAVA.

There are concerns about the interaction between the rush of federal and state election security measures. Fair Vote wants to make sure that the many new security measures do not impair the right of all eligible Colorado voters to be able to vote and have their vote counted.

Areas of concern

Identification: alberghi a FunchalRecent state laws require voters to produce identification before voting. Eligible voters who do not have identification at the polling place must still be allowed to vote and have their votes counted.

Provisional ballots: In order to assure that voters are not disenfranchised again, HAVA required states to develop provisional ballots. The provisional ballot is the fail-safe mechanism that ensures all eligible voters have the opportunity to vote . All voters whose eligibility is in question for whatever reason should be allowed to vote a provisional ballot. In addition, it is just as important to ensure that these provisional votes are counted. It is imperative that provisional ballots are qualified and counted by Colorado counties in such a way as to ensure every eligible voter is able to have their vote counted .

Consistency: In light of all the new state and federal election laws, it is essential that Colorado 's 64 counties develop election practices consistently and with an eye toward ensuring that unnecessary hurdles do not discourage or even disenfranchise eligible Colorado voters. In the 2002 election, differing policies between counties regarding the verification of provisional ballots became the center of a court challenge in an election that was ultimately decided by 121 votes.

Contact Zach Zaslow at (303) 839-4300 x211 with questions or comments