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ASPEN — Arguing that recent voter registration missteps have threatened to disenfranchise many Colorado voters, Gov. Bill Ritter on Thursday called on Secretary of State Mike Coffman to correct errors and mend Colorado voter confidence.
Ritter’s primary concern was a letter prepared by the Secretary of State’s Office and mailed by many county clerks, including Janice K. Vos Caudill, the Pitkin County Clerk and Recorder. The letter incorrectly told more than 4,000 registrants with incomplete applications that any deficiencies had to be rectified by Monday, Oct. 6. In fact, voters have until Election Day to fix deficiencies in their applications.
In the letter, provided to The Aspen Times by Caudill, the incorrect date is underlined for emphasis.
Caudill said she has received “stacks” of incomplete applications this year. She explained that many would-be voters have incompletely filled out a section of the application that requires a driver’s license or Department of Revenue (DOR) identification number. The form allows voters to provide a Social Security number only if they don’t have a license or DOR number. However, many voters misunderstand the instructions and believe they can provide either number, said Caudill.
Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland, who has been volunteering to sign up local voters, agreed. He said he misread the form and accidentally told those he was helping that they could simply provide their Social Security number. Ireland pointed out that many people are quicker to remember their Social Security number than their driver’s license number.
When Ireland realized his mistake, he said, he wrote a personal letter to those with incomplete applications, telling them to contact the county clerk.
The Secretary of State has also written a new letter to inform people that their applications are incomplete — this time with the correct date — said Caudill. It plans to send the letter, which will be printed on lavender paper, by Friday.
Fortunately, said Caudill, her office has made such an extensive effort to contact those with incomplete applications — and make corrections — that the revised letter will only need to be sent to 13 people in Pitkin County. Caudill said her office has been working 10- to 12-hour days, six days a week, to ensure voter applications are correct and voter rolls are updated. Her staff personally calls anyone with an incomplete application, she explained.
But due to the vast numbers of people statewide who received incorrect information about their right to vote, Ritter called a corrected letter “too little, too late.”
In addition, he argued that the incorrect letter is not the only example of election officials providing erroneous information to voters this year.
Ritter pointed to an incident in El Paso County last month as an example. There, the clerk and recorder sent an incorrect message to Colorado College students telling them they could not vote in Colorado if their parents claimed them as dependents for tax purposes.
The clerk later acknowledged the error, said Ritter. However, he then posted a note on his office’s website to warn students of the negative ramifications of registering to vote in Colorado.
“These actions were, in the first case, wrong and in the other, beyond the scope of his duties as Clerk,” wrote Ritter.
To ensure that Colorado doesn't disenfranchise voters — and to make up for these missteps — Ritter called for state polls to open on the weekend during the early voting period.
“Providing additional access to early voting opportunities across the state, at times most convenient for the working men and women of Colorado, is all the more critical in this year’s election when we can expect record turnout and a longer than usual ballot,” he wrote.
However, in a conference call with clerks on Thursday afternoon, Coffman told clerks to “proceed as usual,” said Caudill. She said that while Coffman’s office was continuing to discuss the matter with Ritter’s office, no official decision had yet been made about weekend voting.
However, she did not foresee a problem in Pitkin County with opening polls on the weekend.
kredding@aspentimes.com
Ritter’s primary concern was a letter prepared by the Secretary of State’s Office and mailed by many county clerks, including Janice K. Vos Caudill, the Pitkin County Clerk and Recorder. The letter incorrectly told more than 4,000 registrants with incomplete applications that any deficiencies had to be rectified by Monday, Oct. 6. In fact, voters have until Election Day to fix deficiencies in their applications.
In the letter, provided to The Aspen Times by Caudill, the incorrect date is underlined for emphasis.
Caudill said she has received “stacks” of incomplete applications this year. She explained that many would-be voters have incompletely filled out a section of the application that requires a driver’s license or Department of Revenue (DOR) identification number. The form allows voters to provide a Social Security number only if they don’t have a license or DOR number. However, many voters misunderstand the instructions and believe they can provide either number, said Caudill.
Aspen Mayor Mick Ireland, who has been volunteering to sign up local voters, agreed. He said he misread the form and accidentally told those he was helping that they could simply provide their Social Security number. Ireland pointed out that many people are quicker to remember their Social Security number than their driver’s license number.
When Ireland realized his mistake, he said, he wrote a personal letter to those with incomplete applications, telling them to contact the county clerk.
The Secretary of State has also written a new letter to inform people that their applications are incomplete — this time with the correct date — said Caudill. It plans to send the letter, which will be printed on lavender paper, by Friday.
Fortunately, said Caudill, her office has made such an extensive effort to contact those with incomplete applications — and make corrections — that the revised letter will only need to be sent to 13 people in Pitkin County. Caudill said her office has been working 10- to 12-hour days, six days a week, to ensure voter applications are correct and voter rolls are updated. Her staff personally calls anyone with an incomplete application, she explained.
But due to the vast numbers of people statewide who received incorrect information about their right to vote, Ritter called a corrected letter “too little, too late.”
In addition, he argued that the incorrect letter is not the only example of election officials providing erroneous information to voters this year.
Ritter pointed to an incident in El Paso County last month as an example. There, the clerk and recorder sent an incorrect message to Colorado College students telling them they could not vote in Colorado if their parents claimed them as dependents for tax purposes.
The clerk later acknowledged the error, said Ritter. However, he then posted a note on his office’s website to warn students of the negative ramifications of registering to vote in Colorado.
“These actions were, in the first case, wrong and in the other, beyond the scope of his duties as Clerk,” wrote Ritter.
To ensure that Colorado doesn't disenfranchise voters — and to make up for these missteps — Ritter called for state polls to open on the weekend during the early voting period.
“Providing additional access to early voting opportunities across the state, at times most convenient for the working men and women of Colorado, is all the more critical in this year’s election when we can expect record turnout and a longer than usual ballot,” he wrote.
However, in a conference call with clerks on Thursday afternoon, Coffman told clerks to “proceed as usual,” said Caudill. She said that while Coffman’s office was continuing to discuss the matter with Ritter’s office, no official decision had yet been made about weekend voting.
However, she did not foresee a problem in Pitkin County with opening polls on the weekend.
kredding@aspentimes.com
