CO probably only state where registered voter isn't guaranteed mail ballot after missing 1 election

Oi, Guvvies

Something is going on with Soapblox. My promotion tag is on this but it's not promoted.

We'll miss you, Gabby.

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by: ProgressiveCowgirl @ Fri Oct 21, 2011 at 16:35:09 PM UTC

Promoted at my end

This is serious, you commie dolt  --davebarnes, 2012.

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by: Ralphie @ Fri Oct 21, 2011 at 16:39:27 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Repromote it.

This is a good opportunity to explain a common issue--with regular user accounts, in most cases a post is taken off the homepage if edited by that author after it's promoted. We're not sure if that's a bug or a "feature" to protect us from exploitation, but everybody posting (or promoting) a diary should be aware of this.

Also, in some cases we will move a post down to its appropriate location based on time of posting--not this time, but if a post is promoted well after it was written. We've seen this cause a little confusion in the past, be assured it's not an editorial decision when we do it. It can be confusing to readers to see content at the top of the page from previous days without a clear indication it's out of order.

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by: Colorado Pols @ Fri Oct 21, 2011 at 16:42:38 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Ah, gotcha, that makes sense.

thanks!

We'll miss you, Gabby.

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by: ProgressiveCowgirl @ Fri Oct 21, 2011 at 16:44:17 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

And now that we've cleared that up

Can't wait to hear why Gessler is still so convinced, in the presence of so much evidence to the contrary and none in support, that protecting us from voter fraud due to sending ballots to voters who miss an election is such a dire necessity it over-rides what should be the goal;  doing all we can to encourage  maximum voter participation. He probably won't care to comment but we can probably count on the Borg to leap to his defense. But my ...ummmm.... wild guess (why do such wild ideas come to mind?) is that maximum legit voter participation is the last thing the Borg wants.

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by: BlueCat @ Fri Oct 21, 2011 at 17:02:19 PM UTC

This has not always been the case

I used to work in an elections office in Ohio.

Many states had a mechanism to prevent mail ballots to people who miss a general election, or perhaps only a presidential one. It was a mechanism to make sure people were not registered in more than one county at a time.

Since HAVA required statewide voter data bases, most states got rid of these provisions with their legislation to comply with HAVA provisions.

It appears to be an overdue oversight in Colorado. Hopefully the recent exploitation of this oversight by SoB Gessler, will illustrate to the legislature the need to change it.

 

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by: Alexei @ Fri Oct 21, 2011 at 17:07:30 PM UTC

Except for Oregon,

Mail ballots in most states were a rarity until recently. Mail-in elections just didn't happen, and absentee ballots were something you applied for if you needed one.  

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by: Tom @ Fri Oct 21, 2011 at 18:18:34 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

A variety of states are finding new and not so new

and nifty ways to suppress the vote. It's happening everywhere.

A new South Carolina voter registration act is currently under review by the Department of Justice to see whether the requirement of a photo ID in order to vote is a violation of the Voting Rights Act.

Voters most affected? African Americans. Surprise, surprise.

Similar laws exist in Indiana and Georgia, while four other states also passed new measures this year requiring photo identification in order to cast a ballot.

"I wouldn't characterize caloric intake as "professional development." c rork

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by: Middle of the Road @ Fri Oct 21, 2011 at 17:14:31 PM UTC

We all know how ridiculously easy it is for elderly African Americans

without cars or computers to get through several layers of bureaucracy, many involving large expenditures for a senior on a tiny income, in order to exercise the right to vote. What on earth is the fuss about? It should be snap.

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by: BlueCat @ Fri Oct 21, 2011 at 17:27:48 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Now, the "Where is the birth certificate" campaign begins to make sense.

What the boyles et.al. crowd did was to create significant doubt as to what constitutes a legitimate birth certificate....some people may be so confused that they will simply not attempt to secure a birth certificate if they think the one that they have doesn't meet talk show criteria.
Some people may be afraid that they will be deported, even if they were born in the US  What this all does is scare people away...just afraid to pursue their legitimate rights....

This is why the democrats/president's failure to mount a defense to the "full faith and credit" clause of the constitution may come back to haunt them in 2012.

 For politics, geezers are golden.
by: BlueCat @ Tue Aug 16, 2011 at 19:19:14 PM MDT

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by: dwyer @ Sat Oct 22, 2011 at 14:53:43 PM UTC

It's good, if everyone does it.

I am certainly not opposed to mailing out ballots to "inactive" voters, but it should apply to all 64 counties.  Allowing county clerks to decide whether, or not, they will do it does not make for an even playing field for any candidate or ballot issue.

Secretary of State Scott Gessler was right to challenge the the matter in court.  The judge should have ordered all 64 county clerks to mail out ballots to "inactive" voters.    

This recent episode of only nine counties choosing to do it looks really bad.  Hopefully, the state legislature will remedy this inconsistency next year.

"Nothing is easier than spending public money.  It does not appear to belong to anyone.  The temptation is overwhelming to bestow it on somebody." -- Calvin Coolidge

OMG = Obama Must Go!

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by: RegisteredRepublican @ Sun Oct 23, 2011 at 15:33:27 PM UTC

You should appreciate the ruling

After all, it works on the principle of localized control, which most Republicans think is the ideal method of government.

And having the judge order all 64 counties to distribute mail-in ballots to inactive voters is not within the intent of the law.  If he had done so, he would be an activist judge making law and not a jurist adjudicating the law.

But by all means let's work together and get the legislature to fix this inane standard next year and deliver mail-in ballots to all voters that have deliverable addresses.  To do anything else is to perpetuate an unequal standard in voting rights.

"If it was true that the rich and business were the job creators, we'd be drowning in jobs today." -- Nick Hanauer, venture capitalist

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by: Phoenix Rising @ Sun Oct 23, 2011 at 23:05:46 PM UTC

[ Parent ]