Latest news with #DenverElectionsDivision
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump action on elections unconstitutional but threats loom, Colorado experts say
Election workers process ballots for the presidential primaries on Super Tuesday at the Denver Elections Division in Denver, March 5, 2024. (Kevin Mohatt for Colorado Newsline) A sweeping executive order from President Donald Trump would overhaul the administration of U.S. elections and upend how they're run in Colorado, but election experts in the state say the measure is unconstitutional, and it already faces several legal challenges. The order, issued late last month, requires proof of citizenship to register to vote and vote, requires all ballots be counted on Election Day, and threatens federal funding for states that don't comply, among other changes. On Thursday, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser filed a lawsuit alongside other Democratic states challenging the order, saying it will cause imminent and irreparable harm to states and voters. 'This elections executive order is an overreach by the White House and it threatens to undermine Colorado's well-established gold standard for free and fair elections,' Weiser said in a statement. 'That's why we are challenging this illegal action and protecting our freedom to vote.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Voting rights advocates and the Democratic National Committee have filed separate lawsuits challenging the legality of Trump's order too. Doug Spencer, a professor at the University of Colorado who specializes in election law, said legal challenges to the order 'will prevail.' He said the executive order is similar to others Trump has issued in that it attempts to take actions that are beyond the president's authority. 'Some of the executive orders I think raise some interesting questions or novel questions, and some of them are just blatantly wrong, like if you're born here, you're not a citizen. That's just blatantly wrong,' Spencer said, referring to Trump's attempt to end the constitutional right to birthright citizenship. 'That the president can dictate how states run their elections, even for federal offices, is just wrong. The Constitution has clear language: Congress has authority to do this, and Donald Trump is not Congress, so those lawsuits will be successful.' Spencer said Colorado would have to change numerous aspects of how it conducts elections under Trump's executive order, but he doesn't see that becoming reality. He said the order may still have the political consequences Trump is looking for, though, in that it signals to Republicans in Congress and the states what he wants from them. Aly Belknap, executive director of Colorado Common Cause, a nonprofit that works to defend democracy and voter rights, said Congress has already passed laws detailing what is required to register to vote in federal elections, and Trump cannot simply decide there are new requirements with an executive order. 'States really just need to resist these attempts to override state and federal law through the ongoing legal challenges, and we just really need states to reassert their right to control their own elections and the core of what our democracy is,' Belknap said. Matt Crane, executive director of the Colorado County Clerks Association, said the order 'goes well beyond' the constitutional powers of the presidency. 'Here in Colorado we've been very innovative and are one of the best states in the country in how we conduct our elections, and so federal overreach like this is not welcome,' Crane said. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said the order is unlawful and would prevent eligible voters from casting a ballot. 'The Trump administration is weaponizing the federal government and trying to make it harder for voters to fight back at the ballot box,' Griswold said in a statement when the order was first issued. 'The United States has always led the world in conducting free and fair elections, and we cannot let Donald Trump end that legacy.' Spencer said verifying citizenship when registering to vote 'has the potential to stop non-citizens from voting. The problem is, non-citizens aren't voting, so there's not really a problem to be solved.' He said it's not easy to prove citizenship, and requiring everyone who wants to vote to do so could lead to citizens not being able to vote. 'There's not really any evidence that there's a problem in the first place, but you're going to risk disfranchising people because of the challenges of the documents,' Spencer said. Belknap said millions of Americans who are eligible to vote don't have the proper form of ID the executive order would require from a voter, such as a passport or a birth certificate. 'This is just really scary because it basically takes the responsibility to verify a person's citizenship status from election officials — who do that now to ensure that non-citizens aren't voting — and puts it on American voters, making them have to convince the government that they're eligible to exercise the right to vote,' Belknap said. Denver Clerk and Recorder Paul López said Colorado already has systems in place to ensure only eligible voters cast a ballot in an election, with many opportunities to catch anything suspicious. He said the state verifies a voter's registration information with various state agencies using their ID number, and once verified within Colorado's voter database, they'll use the Electronic Registration Information Center to compare with other states around the country. 'It is really nothing more than an attempt to discourage and undermine voters of all stripes and of all backgrounds, especially people of color and naturalized citizens and even women, from engaging in the right to vote,' López said of the executive order. 'This would dramatically impact folks whose name doesn't match their original birth certificate because of marriage or divorce or anything else.' López said instances of people who are not eligible to vote attempting to vote are very rare 'because the system that we use works,' and if someone does try to vote illegally, they will be prosecuted. He also said undocumented immigrants are not trying to illegally participate in U.S. elections as Trump claims. 'On its face there's really just this baseless claim of fraud, especially amongst undocumented immigrants who are somehow voting in these elections,' López said. 'It's a false narrative and frankly it only serves to turn Americans against each other.' Crane said if the order were enacted, Colorado voters would have to show proof of citizenship when registering for the first time, as well as every time they update their registration. The process would also have to take place in person, removing online registration as an option, and lines to vote in person would take much longer as election workers would have to verify documentation. Most Colorado voters already need to have their ballot to their county clerks office by 7 p.m. on Election Day to have it counted, but for military and overseas voters, their ballot can be counted up to eight days after Election Day so long as it's postmarked on Election Day. Trump's order would preclude ballots to be counted after Election Day. 'We believe our military voters deserve every opportunity to have their voice heard and so this executive order would walk that back, which seems insane,' Crane said. Belknap said the order could also hinder Colorado's automatic voter registration process, as Division of Motor Vehicles employees would have to 'assess customer citizenship status' during every interaction they have. 'We've had this automatic motor registration at the DMV for many years now,' Belknap said. 'It's how so many Coloradans get registered to vote originally when they get their permit or their drivers license, or when they move and have to update.' Republicans in Congress reintroduced the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, which would require proof of citizenship for anyone registering to vote nationwide. The bill poses a more substantial threat than Trump's executive order because Congress actually has the power to legislate certain requirements for federal elections. Spencer said the SAVE Act includes some provisions Trump tried to address with his executive order related to citizenship and voting machine verification, but it's not quite as far reaching. Two Colorado Republicans in Congress, Reps. Lauren Boebert of Windsor and Jeff Crank of Colorado Springs, are sponsors of SAVE Act. The CCCA has taken a formal position against the SAVE Act. Crane said the measure is 'poorly written' and would increase costs of conducting elections without providing the funding for those costs. With the potential for civil or criminal charges for election workers who unintentionally register an ineligible voter in the SAVE Act, Crane said it would also deter people from working as an election judge because they wouldn't want to risk prosecution. 'Nobody is out there right now — no clerk, no election judge — purposefully registering somebody who shouldn't be registered,' Crane said. 'If it does happen, it's certainly on a very, very small scale now. But if you make a mistake, you could face five years in prison and you could be sued civilly. Who in their right mind is going to want to work in that environment?' Crane said while it is important to ensure only citizens are voting, the Trump administration is looking to do so in a way that isn't efficient without seeking alternative means. 'They aren't interested in having conversations with experts who do this work to figure out those better ways,' Crane said. 'They'd much rather be informed by people who have been spreading disinformation for the last four years and spreading lies and legislating based on disinformation rather than fact, and that's a very dangerous place to be.' López said Trump intentionally spreads misinformation — particularly the false claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen — to undermine voters and create distrust to the point that eligible voters won't want to vote. Ultimately, López said he thinks that's Trump's main goal. 'He doesn't like who's coming out to vote, so let's stifle it rather than fighting a fair fight in a fair election and talking about the facts,' López said. Claims of widespread fraud in recent U.S. elections have been debunked by elections officials, experts, media investigations, law enforcement, and the courts. López said 'in the age of misinformation,' he encouraged all voters to go 'straight to the source' and ask their local elections officials any questions they have about their voter registration or how their vote is counted. 'Our voters can expect the same level of excellence from their clerk and recorder's office, from the elections division, as they are used to — the same fair, secure and accessible model that leads the nation,' López said. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
The right of Coloradans to vote should be protected
Matthew Katz delivers a ballot at a drop box outside the Denver Elections Division offices on April 4, 2023. (Quentin Young/Colorado Newsline) Coloradans know a thing or two about what makes America beautiful. Beyond the overwhelming splendor of nature, the state also boasts a trendsetting history of passing critical laws before the rest of the nation follows its lead — including granting women the right to vote nearly three decades before the federal government ratified the 19th Amendment. Now, Colorado legislators are considering the Colorado Voting Rights Act. This important Colorado legislation is also known as Senate Bill 25-1, meaning it's the very first bill introduced by the state's Senate this year. However, there are still many processes the bill must endure before it can become law. It passed its first committee hearing on Tuesday. Every step of the journey, it's imperative that Colorado legislators never lose sight of how this bill can impact their constituents. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX The bill contains commonsense policies designed to protect the voting access Coloradans enjoy today, and it sets fair standards to ensure all Colorado citizens have an equal chance to make their voices heard by voting. Specifically, the act would prohibit election methods and district maps that unfairly drown out the voices of communities of color, and would also prohibit election practices that lead to disparities in voting. This is critical, because Coloradans still face large racial disparities in voter turnout. In fact, it's estimated that if the barriers that cause voting disparities were removed, voter turnout in 2020 would have been roughly 5.1 percentage points higher, and turnout in 2022 would have been around 6.1 points higher. Although there is a federal voting rights act which does offer some protections, courts have gutted the act over the years — meaning it no longer fully protects the freedom to vote. The Colorado Voting Rights Act would help fill the holes courts have ripped in the federal legislation. At the same time, it would also offer expanded protections like creating a statewide election database, expanding access to multilingual ballots, and improving voting access on tribal lands. For those interested in learning more about the Colorado Voting Rights Act and other states' voting rights acts, you're in luck. The Center for American Progress recently partnered with the Legal Defense Fund to launch a video explainer series, which will feature a new video each month through June 2025. These videos will explain everything you need to know about state voting rights acts and how they can protect the freedom to vote from dangerous, discriminatory attacks. A recent national poll revealed 73% of polled voters want their representative to prioritize passing a state voting rights act. And this isn't a partisan matter — that 73% represents voters across the political spectrum. Coloradans deserve fair elections where every citizen has an equal chance to make their voice heard to their government. It's clear Coloradans want their leaders to continue paving the way forward on voting rights. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Over 2,300 Coloradans voted from jail in 2024 under new law
Raul Vidaurri fills out his ballot for the 2024 presidential election on Oct. 30, 2024, at the Denver Detention Center. The Denver Elections Division held in-person voting for people in custody at the jail, as counties across Colorado are now required to do under a new law. (Lindsey Toomer/Colorado Newsline) The number of Coloradans in jail who voted in the 2024 election soared from previous years after a new law required county clerks to hold a day of in-person voting in every county jail. Kyle Giddings, deputy director of the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition, said data he has collected from county clerks and the secretary of state's office show that over 2,300 people voted from jail in 2024, compared to 231 voters during the 2022 midterm elections. That includes in-person voting and those who submitted a mail ballot. 'Across the board, everyone really stepped up to the plate and got it done,' Giddings said. In Colorado, people in custody on pre-trial status are eligible to vote, as is anyone serving time for a misdemeanor conviction. People with felony convictions lose their right to vote only while they are serving time for that felony conviction, and they regain their right to vote once their sentence is complete. A Colorado law passed last year requires county sheriffs to designate someone to help eligible voters in jails cast their ballots. The designee is responsible for informing confined individuals of their eligibility and coordinating with the county clerk to set up a temporary, in-person voting center at their local county jail. The law, Senate Bill 24-72, requires a designee from the clerk's office be present to facilitate in-person voting for six hours on one day. Voters in jail must also receive information on candidates and measures included on the ballot so they can know who and what they're voting for. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Jefferson County Clerk Amanda Gonzalez, who is running for secretary of state in 2026, said she's proud of the turnout her county saw during this election. In the 2022 election, before Gonzalez was clerk, three voters cast a ballot from jail, and in 2024, the county had 348 people vote from jail. 'I want to continue to see this program expand — I want to see every single eligible voter participate in our democracy — but I am really proud that we made a significant step forward toward that goal during this cycle,' Gonzalez said. One voter in the Jefferson County jails voted for the first time and hadn't known he was eligible, Gonzalez said. He told her staff it was 'one of the top five experiences of his life and that it made him feel like he mattered.' 'Of course, every voice matters, but in particular, this is a population of people who are often told that they don't matter, or because of a mistake that they made, that they shouldn't have a voice,' Gonzalez said. The clerk's office also coordinated with the sheriff so that staff in the jails reminded people they could be eligible to vote before the day of in-person voting to increase awareness and register voters, Gonzalez said. Jefferson County Sheriff Reggie Marinelli testified against the law when it was going through the Colorado Legislature last year, but Gonzalez said since it passed they worked together to implement it in 'a very professional way.' 'We're really grateful to the staff on her team that really went above and beyond and were great to work with,' Gonzalez said. 'There are times when we disagree, and that's OK, and once the law was passed, they were great partners.' The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office said in an email that bringing in the equipment staff from the clerk's office needed to conduct in-person voting was a challenge, as well assigning additional staff to manage security and bring voters in and out. The clerk's office had more than 20 personnel on site, which required 'extensive preparation and planning' to ensure a secure environment. Arapahoe County Elections Director Bill Mast said his county started holding in-person voting in jail in 2022, but the transition to meet the requirements of the new law went smoothly for 2024. He said they anticipated higher interest from incarcerated voters for the presidential election, so the clerk's office held in-person voting over four days in the jail. 'We value this program. We've prioritized it for a number of years. We were ecstatic to see this bill go through to kind of reinforce what we were already doing in collaboration with our nonprofit sector partners, and our sheriff's office,' Mast said. 'We are just happy that all of our voters have an opportunity to get their voices heard, their ballots cast.' Mast said 47% of those held in jail in Arapahoe County are residents of other counties, which meant those voters had to use a statewide ballot. Arapahoe County had 128 people vote in-person in jail, which included 60 statewide ballots. During hearings on SB-72 before the law passed, El Paso County's sheriff and clerk's offices testified against the bill. Clerk and Recorder Steve Schleiker said that while he had concerns over the financial and operational impact it would have on his office, the process in November was 'very successful.' El Paso County went above and beyond the law's requirements and held two full days of jail voting, which involved two separate in-person voting centers — one for each pod within the jail 'to ensure the safety of all,' Schleiker said. Sheriffs' deputies in one pod would escort one voter at a time, while deputies could escort four at a time in the other pod. In total, 308 people in the roughly 1,800-person capacity jail voted in-person. Schleiker said the incarcerated voters were all kind and appreciative to have the opportunity to vote in-person, though he thought they would see a higher turnout. 'All in all, we feel it went amazingly well without much guidance from the state,' Schleiker said. 'We just concentrated on making sure every eligible voter was able to sit there and cast their ballot, and also the safety of all involved.' Giddings said he wants to find a way to improve incarcerated voters' access to their local ballot if they are in custody in a county other than the one they are registered to vote in. In November, if someone was in jail in a county other than their own, they voted on a statewide ballot. Schleiker said this was a challenge in El Paso County as well, because with such a large jail population, many people in custody are from a different county or even another state. Issuing statewide ballots can be complicated, according to Mast, because there is an additional process for verifying the voter's eligibility. The ballots also have to be mailed to the voter's home county, which 'introduces risk to processes.' Mast said it would be easier if they could just count that ballot in Arapahoe County. 'We know the ballot needs to be counted in a statewide contest — (it) might as well be counted here,' Mast said. 'It's going to be quicker for results, it's going to be quicker for the voter to know their ballot was counted, and it's much simpler for us.' Developing a clear process and guidelines for bringing people in and out of the voting areas in jails could also be helpful for certain counties, Giddings said. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said in a statement that her office looks forward to building on the first year of the jail-based voting program for future elections. Gayle Perez, a spokesperson for the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office, said the office handed out voter registration forms to anyone in custody who wanted one, and they were returned to the Pueblo County Clerk's Office. Those in custody also received literature on voting guidelines from the clerk's office prior to voting. A sergeant brought ballots to the jail, and deputies brought ballots to incarcerated individuals who were registered to vote. A bipartisan team from the clerk's office came to pick up ballots and process them. Perez said for Pueblo's day of in-person voting, the county clerk proctored voting through kiosks, which were connected to the internet for voting. Pueblo County had nine people vote during the in-person voting event, and 40 people voted with mail ballots outside of in-person voting. 'Inmates who were not sent a ballot were able to vote in-person,' Perez said in a statement. 'All inmates who voted were given privacy during their voting time. The process and voting went well.' About 26 counties had nobody cast a ballot from jail, but 17 of those counties don't have their own jail. Giddings said he isn't concerned that anything went wrong in counties with no turnout, though, because of how small their jail capacities are. For example, the Crowley County jail only has a 14-person capacity, and it's possible nobody was in the jail the day the county held in-person voting. In Elbert County, Clerk and Recorder Rhonda Braun said everyone in custody chose to vote with a mail ballot, though in-person voting was still offered. 'Our Sheriff's office was incredibly helpful and we worked together to make sure that every eligible incarcerated voter was able to vote,' Braun said in an email. Gilpin County Clerk and Recorder Sahari McCormick said her office has always brought ballots to the county jail for incarcerated voters, but November was the first time they had an in-person voting center. She said the jail had about 32 people in custody when they held in-person voting, and about 13 people chose to vote. 'The Sheriff's and Detentions Departments were incredibly helpful and the whole process went smoothly,' McCormick said in an email. Though Summit County also did not have anyone from jail vote in-person, Chief Deputy Clerk Stephanie Szmutko said setting up in-person voting 'went seamlessly' while working with the sheriff's office. She said a few people in jail voted by mail. 'They welcomed us into their space and were very helpful with figuring out the logistics of what would work best for our department and for theirs,' Szmutko said in an email. Montrose County Clerk Tressa Guynes said their county jail only had two people confined who were eligible to vote, and the clerk's office still had two election judges on site for six hours. 'The coordination and communication with the Montrose County jail staff and as distributed through the facility has always allowed for a smooth and secure process,' Guynes said in an email. 'This includes checking roles and voter registration records to ensure those eligible are identified and receive appropriate communication and opportunity prior to and on election day, even if they choose not to participate.' SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
